Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa
2 tsp . baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup soured milk, (just add a table spoon of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk)
1 cup cold black coffee
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Strawberry Filling
4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in ¼ cup cold water
For the Vanilla Whipped Cream
4 cups whipping cream
6 rounded tbsp icing sugar, (ie powdered sugar, confectioners sugar)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Additionally you will need
4 to 6 ounces Newfoundland Screech, (or other good quality dark rum.)
Instructions
To prepare the Chocolate Cake
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.
Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely. Split cake into 4 layers.
To prepare the Strawberry Filling
Combine the strawberries and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
Thicken with 2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in ¼ cup cold water, which is added to the strawberries while stirring gently.
Boil gently for 1 additional minute, stirring constantly. Divide in 2 portions and cool completely.
To prepare theVanilla Whipped Cream
Combine all ingredients and whip until stiff mounds form.
To construct the cake
Split individual layers of cake into two layers making four layers in total. Sprinkle each layer of cake with about an ounce of Screech.
Spread a layer of vanilla whipped cream on the first cake layer, followed alternately with a layer of cake, a layer of strawberry filling, cake,then cream again finishing with the final layer of cake.
Frost sides of cake with vanilla whipped cream and using a piping bag pipe a border of whipped cream around the top of the cake.
Fill the middle of the border on top with the remaining strawberry filling.
Decorate the cake as desired with chocolate ganache dipped strawberries and drizzle of chocolate ganache.
Chocolate Ganache
1 cup chocolate chips
¼ cup whipping cream
Heat whipping cream to scalding but do not boil. Stir in chocolate chips and stir over low heat until smooth.
You can dip strawberries in this glaze to garnish your cake as well as drizzling it over the cake for the final presentation. I use a piping bag with a number 3 writing tip to drizzle the ganache over the cake but a zip-loc bag with the corner snipped off works just as well.
