I love making and decorating cakes. It is time consuming because I do not make them often, but I love the entire process of baking the cakes, making the frosting, and my favorite part – decoration. I love coming up with color schemes for the cake.
Experimenting with cake flavors is also something that I enjoy thoroughly. Do the flavors work together? Do the flavors entice my audience? Is that something they would make? Like I have this Strawberry, Yuzu, Jasmine Green Tea Cake which was an amazingly delicious combination and a favorite to date.
Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Buttercream inspiration
I mean everyone loves chocolate cake. And chocolate and strawberry is an eternal combination that is unparalleled. Strawberry and pink peppercorn jam is a unique combination that provides fruity notes from the strawberry jam and a slight floral/fruity punch from the pink peppercorn that melds beautifully together.
I decided to make a chocolate cake with a jam in the middle, and use the jam to make the buttercream to decorate the cake. My family loves American buttercream, and are not fans of the Swiss Meringue buttercream, which is seemingly more popular amongst the baking community.
So this recipe calls for American buttercream, which can be tad sweeter, and I balance it out by adding salt, or sometimes I use salted butter as well, which helps to tone down the sweetness in a typical American buttercream.
Ingredients of the Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
The ingredient of the Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Buttercream are:
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Jam
- Strawberries
- Granulated sugar
- Pink peppercorn
- Lemon juice
Chocolate Cake
- All purpose flour
- Almond flour
- Cocoa powder
- Brewed coffee (warm)
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Olive Oil
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Strawberry and Pink peppercorn jam
- Pink peppercorn
- Whole milk
For the decoration
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Food gel colors
- Edible gold leaf
How to make the Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
Chocolate Cake
The chocolate cake is a fool proof chocolate cake. I like to make smaller cakes such as 6 inch cakes, because firstly I do not have so much space in my fridge, and secondly, it is much easier to manage, decorate and EAT!
The cake starts off with mixing the olive oil with the sugar. Add the eggs to mix well. The cocoa powder is mixed with the coffee. The coffee brings out the chocolatey flavor in the overall cake flavor profile. It is added to the cake mixture along with vanilla extract.
The dry mixture is added next. I love using almond flour in the dry mixture, because it truly makes the cake taste better, and gives it a good texture as well. The cake is baked in 2 6 inch cake tins which are greased. DO NOT FORGET TO grease them with baking spray.
Bake and rest the cakes until ready to remove from the cake tins. The cakes are covered in plastic wrap and allowed to rest in the fridge, so that the crumb is a bit more solid when applying the buttercream over it.
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Jam
This jam is fruity, with a kick, and the prettiest color as well. It is literally a 10 minute jam, and it is used to flavor the buttercream, which in turns gives a wonderful flavor to the overall cake recipe. Store the jam in the fridge in a covered container, overnight so that it sets properly to be used in the buttercream the next day.
The jam is used in the buttercream and also used in the center of the cake, in between the cake layers.
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
The buttercream recipe that I use is a typical American buttercream. My family loves American buttercream and are not fans of the Swiss meringue buttercream. American buttercream does not use eggs, and is sweeter than it’s Swiss counterpart.
- TIP: Use salted butter to tone down the sweetness of the buttercream.
The buttercream gets a beautiful pink color when the jam is added to it. It tastes fantastic, along with the chocolate, because let’s face it – STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE are a match made in heaven!
The buttercream can be made ahead of time. However, be sure to keep it out if stored in the fridge, to allow it to come to room temperature, so that it is pliable to apply on the cake.
FEW CAKE TIPS WHEN DECORATING THE CAKE
- Crumb coat the cake: This means, apply the buttercream around the entire cake and cover it, once it is applied between the cake. Using a cake scraper, smoothen the outer layer, and place the scraped buttercream aside for later use. Some tiny parts of the cake will be exposed, but will help to get a smooth finish to the cake, when a second coating is applied to the cake.
- Once the crumb coat is applied, put it in the fridge for the crumb coat to set.
- Once it is set, in about 30 minutes, apply a second coat, and using the cake scraper, smoothen the outer and the upper layers.
- Set it again in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Now the cake is ready to decorate using various shades of pink for that beautiful ombre colored look.
- I use a few different piping tips – French and Round tips from Ateco, my choice of brand for piping tips, and create different colored buttercreams, and add it into the piping bags affixed with the different piping tips.
- The buttercream compliments the chocolate avocado oil cake, really well and is absolutely fantastic in taste.
- I made a plain buttercream frosting with various colors for pretty piping, using rosette and star tips. I also used edible gold leaf to give it that touch of elegance as well.
- Decoration is the fun part where you can let your creativity shine.
- When placing the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip, place it into a tall glass. Using a rubber spatula, clean up the buttercream from the bowl and place it into the bag.
- Use a bench scraper to scrape the buttercream down towards the tip. And seal the top of the bag with a clip, or an elastic band.
What kind of brewed coffee do you use in the cake batter? What is the purpose of the coffee?
I use instant coffee as brewed coffee. You can also use espresso.
What kind of cake pans do you use for this recipe?
I use 6 inch cake tin pans for these cakes.
What kind of piping bags and piping tips do you use for this recipe?
I use Wilton or Ateco piping bags, because they are sturdy and durable. I use French star tips and Round star tips from Ateco.
What kind of a cake scraper do you use for the outer layer of the cake?
I use this cake scraper for the outer layer of the cake.
Can you provide the link for the edible gold that you use in this recipe?
The edible gold leaf is linked.
Other Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day recipes that you can make for the occasion are:
- Eggless Ferrero Rocher Mini Cheesecakes
- Blood Orange and Black Sesame Cake
- Strawberry Curd Brownie Bites with Italian Meringue
If you make this recipe, please tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
XO
Amisha
**First published on 5/29/2019 for La Tourangelle**
Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
Ingredients
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Jam
- 2 cups (250gms) strawberries cut into tiny cubes
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground pink peppercorn
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Chocolate Cake
(Makes 2, 6-inch round cakes)- 1 1/4 cups (170 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (62 grams) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 2/3 cup brewed coffee (warm)
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (92 grams) brown sugar
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
- 3 sticks (339 gms) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6 cups (750 gms) of confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Strawberry and Pink peppercorn jam
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pink peppercorn
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
For the decoration
- 1 stick (113 gms) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups (250 gms)confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food gel colors
- Edible gold leaf
Equipment
- 2 6-inch round cake tins
- Baking spray
- 6–7 12 inch pastry bags
- Star pastry tips – different sizes
- 1M Wilton rosette tip
- Large spatula
- Cake rotating stand
- Stand mixer
- Cake smoother
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Jam
- In a medium pot, at medium heat, add all the ingredients and mix it every 30 seconds or so for 3 minutes. The mixture will come to a boil, let it boil for about 10 minutes. Do not stir while it is boiling.
- Mix after 10 minutes and the foam will calm down and the mixture will look thick. Switch off the stove at this point and let it cool completely. Store the jam in a glass jar with a lid, in the fridge. Let cool overnight.
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Use baking spray to grease 2 6-inch cake tins.
- In a medium bowl, mix in the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda and salt and whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, add in the warm brewed coffee and cocoa powder and whisk well until there are no lumps in the mixture and it is smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and olive oil. Start at low speed for 30 seconds, and then increase the speed to medium speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time at low speed. Increase the speed to medium speed for a minute to incorporate. Use a spatula to clean up the sides.
- Now add the brewed coffee and cocoa mixture and whisk again to blend.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 batches with the mixer at low speed, so as not to spit out flour everywhere. Use a spatula to clean up the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate.
- Divide the cake batter equally into the two cake tins. You can use a kitchen scale to check that the batter is distributed equally. Put the cake tins in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the tins for about half an hour. Gently remove the cakes from the tin by inverting them and rest for an hour. Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and rest for 2 to 4 hours in the fridge.
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and salt. Use a paddle attachment to mix the butter at high speed for a minute, until fluffy and light in color.
- Add the strawberry and pink peppercorn jam, ground pink peppercorns, and vanilla extract and mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Now add in confectioner’s sugar and milk and whisk until well blended. Do not overmix else you will aerate the buttercream.
- Add half the buttercream frosting in a piping bag with a large round tip. Use a bench scraper to scrape down the buttercream to the bottom of the bag. Twist and clip the bag and keep it aside.
Buttercream for the decoration
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and salt. Use a paddle attachment to mix the butter at high speed for a minute, until fluffy and light in color.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Now add in confectioner’s sugar and milk and whisk until well blended. Do not overmix else you will aerate the buttercream.
- Divide the buttercream in 4-5 bowls. Add in the different gradients of a particular color that you like. I used shades of pinks and brown. Mix each one with a separate small spatula until well blended.
- Prepare the piping bags with the different tips. I used 1M for the rosettes, and different sized star tips for the other colors.
- Now add each buttercream color into each piping bag. Use a bench scraper to gather all the buttercream all the way to the bottom of the bag. Twist and clip, and keep it ready for decoration.
Decorate the Cake
- Remove the cake from the fridge. Using a large serrated knife, trim the top layer of both the cakes to get an even and straight edge.
- Place one layer on a cake rotating stand, sealing it with a dab of the strawberry and pink peppercorn buttercream frosting.
- Now using the piping bag with the round tip, pipe a circle around the bottom layer to form a well in the center. Add half the jam into the center of the cake as a filling, into the well. The jam level matches the buttercream frosting level.
- Add the other layer on top of the buttercream.
- Crumb coat: Pipe the buttercream frosting from the piping bag with the large round tip around the cake(it will get finished), to form about 3 layers around the cake.
- Using a large offset spatula, turning the turntable, keep the offset spatula perpendicular to the table and smoothen out the frosting to cover the entire cake to form a light coating.
- Remove excess with a cake smoother tool and scrap it back into the remaining buttercream bowl. Repeat the process until the layer is smooth. Using the spatula, cover the top of the cake with the icing too and smoothen the top out.
- Place the cake in the fridge for half an hour to set.
- Remove it, and then using the large offset spatula, start adding the remaining buttercream around the cake to form a nice layer, while constantly rotating the turntable. This will help to smoothen out the cake frosting.
- Keep repeating the process of applying buttercream and scraping the excess with a cake smoother. The trick to getting a smooth frosting on the outside is using a small offset spatula, hold it under running hot tap water, wipe off the water and quickly use the spatula to smoothen the sides. You will get the hang of the process. Keep repeating it, until the cake is absolutely smooth.
- Repeat the same process on top of the cake. Keep the small offset spatula at a 45 degree angle and smoothen it out bit by bit, while slowly rotating the turntable as well and scraping the excess off into the buttercream bowl. Set the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Now to make it look pretty. Use the star tip and the rosette tip piping bags and pipe your abstract design on the cake. Use edible gold leaf using a clean dry brush to put it on the cake randomly.
- Your cake is ready!
Notes
What kind of brewed coffee do you use in the cake batter? What is the purpose of the coffee?
- I use instant coffee as brewed coffee. You can also use espresso.
What kind of cake pans do you use for this recipe?
- I use 6 inch cake tin pans for these cakes.
What kind of piping bags and piping tips do you use for this recipe?
- I use Wilton or Ateco piping bags, because they are sturdy and durable. I use French star tips and Round star tips from Ateco.
What kind of a cake scraper do you use for the outer layer of the cake?
- I use this cake scraper for the outer layer of the cake.
Can you provide the link for the edible gold that you use in this recipe?
- The edible gold leaf is linked.
