Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Cake
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This chocolate strawberry cheesecake cake is perfect for chocolate strawberry lovers! This is the best cake for Valentine’s Day and it’s so simple too. Think super moist and soft chocolate cake topped with a delicious strawberry cream cheese frosting.
You guys, I am on such a cream cheese frosting kick right now. After making my vegan red velvet cake, I knew I needed to make another cake right away with my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe!
This chocolate strawberry cheesecake cake (wow, that’s a mouthful) is the perfect combo of sweet strawberry flavor with rich chocolate, topped off with a dreamy cream cheese frosting. If you want to make a strawberry cheesecake cake without having to make an actual cheesecake (no fussy water bath please and thank you), then you have to try this cake!
Why You’ll Love My Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Cake
- This chocolate strawberry cheesecake cake is a breeze to make. You don’t even need to use a mixer to make the cake, and using store-bought jam is going to help you save time!
- This is the perfect combination of flavors, chocolate and strawberries are a classic combo for a reason!
- You can easily make this cake dairy-free, so it’s perfect if you have food allergies.
- We’re using simple pantry ingredients here, I bet you have everything you need in your kitchen!
Ingredients Needed
- Cocoa Powder: I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder if you can. It’s much richer in flavor and darker in color.
- Oil: make sure to use a neutral oil like sunflower oil or canola oil. Using oil instead of butter will make our cake super moist and soft.
- Milk: feel free to use regular milk or vegan milk.
- Cream Cheese: I’ve found that the cream cheese consistency differs depending on the brand of cream cheese, especially if you’re using vegan cream cheese.
- Cornstarch: adding some cornstarch will thicken the frosting if you’re using vegan cream cheese.
- Strawberry Jam: you can use chunky jam if you want pieces of strawberry in every bite or you can use smooth jam! You can even swap it out for raspberry jam.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Start by making your cream cheese frosting. In a medium bowl or in a stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until combined. Add the salt and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Add in the cornstarch (if using) and the powdered sugar slowly, until you get your desired consistency. I recommend starting with a lower amount of powdered sugar and gradually adding more if needed.
Step 3: Cover the bowl of frosting and place it in the fridge to firm up while you make the cake.
Step 4: Preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenheit and prepare an 8-inch square pan. Spray the inside with cooking spray then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Step 5: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Step 6: Add the eggs, vanilla extract, milk and oil. Pour in the hot water and whisk until smooth.
Step 7: Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Step 8: Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Step 9: Once the cake has cooled completely, drop scoops of strawberry jam on top of the cake and spread it around evenly.
Step 10: Scoop out the cream cheese frosting and spread it over the cake on top of the cake, mixing them together. Feel free to add more jam if you want!
Expert Tips
- I always recommend using a kitchen scale when baking. It’s so easy to add too much flour or cocoa powder to your cake if you use measuring cups, making your cake dry or dense.
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale, then make sure you use the scoop and level method to weigh out your flour and cocoa powder!
- I love decorating this cake with sliced fresh strawberries, it’s so pretty!
- If you’re using vegan cream cheese, my favorite brands are Violife, Tofutti, or Vitalife. I’ve found those work the best and give you the best consistency.
- Don’t skip out on lining the bottom of your cake pan! Otherwise, the cake might fall apart when you try to take it out of the pan.
Storage Instructions
Since this cake is covered in cream cheese frosting, I recommend storing it in the fridge. Cakes tend to dry out when stored in the fridge, so I recommend eating it within 3 days.
More Valentine’s Day Recipes You’ll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup (64.5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (225 ml) water, hot
- ½ cup (107.5 ml) canola oil (or sunflower oil)
- ½ cup (125 ml) dairy free milk of choice (I use unsweetened soy milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Jam Layer
- 1 cup strawberry jam
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1½-2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar/confectioner's sugar)
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (only if dairy free, see notes!)
Instructions
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, add the cream cheese and butter and beat until fully combined. Add salt and vanilla extract.
- Add in the cornstarch (if using) and powdered sugar slowly until the desired consistency is reach. Start with the lower amount of powdered sugar and add more as needed.
- Cover the bowl of frosting and place it in the fridge to firm up while you make the cake.
Chocolate Cake
- Whisk flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda together in a large bowl.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, oil, and milk. Pour in the hot water and mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then run a butter knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan and flip upside down onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Assembling the Cake
- Once the cake has cooled completely, drop scoops of strawberry jam onto the cake and spread it out evenly.
- Scoop spoonfuls of cream cheese frosting over top of the jam layer and use a spoon or offset spatula to spread the frosting around. The jam will be mixed in and you can even add more jam on top to make it pretty! Sliced strawberries also would be great to decorate if desired!
Video
Notes
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
My granddaughters absolutely love this cake. And it’s so easy that by now, they can make it with minimal help from stray grandfathers. What’s more, they love riffing (if that’s the word I mean) on the idea of this versatile cake. So far they’ve made versions, swapping out the strawberry jam with orange marmalade, ginger marmalade (my favorite!), and cherry jam. Just another one of Gabby’s gifts that keep on giving!
This looks so good and I’d love to try the recipe with my grandlings. But I’m concerned about the amount of baking soda you’ve given. For some reason, I’m thinking that 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda seems like an awful lot for just 1 1/2 cups of flour. Before I go ahead and make this delightful sounding cake, might I ask you to reassure me by just telling me to shut up and trust that, once again, you’ve presented me with a perfect recipe (for free!!!)? Thanks once again for the help. Gabby!
The baking soda measurement is correct! 😊
Wow! Thanks for the reassurance. I’d forgotten all about this great recipe until I just now got your answer. Looks like it’s going to be a cheesecake Mother’s Day – I can’t wait! Thanks again, for the fabulous sounding recipe and the continuing education.