Chocolate cake with Nutella and strawberries

This chocolate cake with Nutella and strawberries is only 20 cm in diameter, but it’s surprisingly generous! The chocolate sponge is soft and tender, with a lovely melt-in-the-mouth texture, and goes beautifully with the creamy Nutella filling and fresh strawberries. It’s a delicious little cake that’s hard to resist. If you missed the chance to make it for Mother’s Day, it’s just as lovely for Children’s Day! 🙂

Ingredients for the chocolate cake:

• 200 g butter
• 190 g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 200 g plain flour
• 40 g cocoa powder
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 150 ml sour cream, soured milk or kefir
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat again. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda directly into the mixture. Add the sour cream and gently fold everything together with a spatula, just until combined. The batter will be quite thick.

Line two 20 or 21 cm round cake tins with baking paper. Divide the batter evenly between the tins and level the tops. Bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Ingredients for the Nutella cream:

• 150 g mascarpone, chilled
• 150 g Nutella
• 40 g milk chocolate, melted in a bain-marie and cooled

Place the mascarpone in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the Nutella and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and mix briefly until the cream is smooth and uniform. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until slightly thickened.

Ingredients for the whipped cream:

• 250 ml double cream, chilled
• 50 g mascarpone, chilled
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until thick and creamy.

Additionally:

• 300 g strawberries

Assembly:

Place the first chocolate sponge layer on a cake stand. Spread over half of the Nutella cream, followed by half of the whipped cream. Arrange the halved strawberries on top. Place the second sponge layer over the filling and repeat with the remaining Nutella cream, whipped cream and strawberries.

Refrigerate the cake for a few hours, until the Nutella cream has set. Store the chocolate cake with Nutella and strawberries in the fridge.

Enjoy!