Jessie’s Chocolate Birthday Cake With Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting

You haven’t lived until you’ve baked and eaten Jessie’s Chocolate Birthday Cake With Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting. End of story. The creator behind this easy and gorgeous recipe is Jessie Sheehan, the genius behind Jessie Sheehan Bakes and the author of The Vintage Baker + co-author of Icebox Cakes. This lady knows her sweets. And I respect her tremendously for that.

When I first saw this Chocolate Birthday Cake on her feed, I knew I had to drop everything and make it. 

It was late afternoon when I finally got around to baking it and by the time it had cooled, the light was too dark to take photos. I was presented with a most serious dilemma… Do I leave the cake untouched so I can take perfect photos in the morning when it’s frosted?

And am I the kind of person that can leave a freshly baked cake well enough alone? The answer to both is no. No, I can’t.

The texture of this chocolate birthday cake is beyond. It’s soft, airy and yes, moist. It eagerly springs back when pressed. The taste is of a rich, deep chocolate but straddles that line of rich chocolate flavor without being overly sweet.

And therein lies one of the most bewitching qualities of Jessie’s Chocolate Birthday Cake: you get that delicious chocolate craving satisfied without it feeling sickening sweet, which can sometimes be the case with deep chocolate cakes. This in turn causes you to eat a ridiculous amount of said cake.

I dove fork first into the unfrosted cake and ate an embarrassing amount. We (I had roped Stella into the Chocolate Birthday Cake at this point) ate from only one side of the cake so I could still take photos of it in the morning.

Mind you, I still hadn’t tasted this chocolate birthday cake with the magical Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting and we’d eaten a quarter of it.

In the morning I moved onto the frosting. Wowza. I love me a good American buttercream. They’re easy. The ingredients are often in my cupboard + fridge. I’m basically a lazy person at times and it’s a very convenient way to top a cake.

But I will acknowledge and emphasize that they are often very, very sweet. Enter this delicious Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting that may become my new go-to. It has very little added sugar, fresh strawberries and fresh-whipped egg whites. There’s a wee more to it than that. But not by much. I never knew how badly I needed Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting in my life.

And it was pretty easy to throw together if you’re like me and you like to factor in how much effort you’ll need to devote towards your sweet cravings.

So I frosted the chocolate birthday cake. I sprinkled the cake (using these sprinkles). I photographed half of the cake (because Stella and I had inhaled the other half). And then I excitedly texted Jessie: Good morning! I made your chocolate cake with strawberry frosting and HOLY SHIT!

And I knew I wanted to share this cake with you guys. Because you need this cake in your life. For birthdays. For celebrations. For no other reason then you want to stand in the kitchen and shove chocolate cake with bomb-ass frosting into your mouth. 

Thank you Jessie for letting me share your beautiful recipe!! 

Before We Get Started

Size Matters

I take issue with how many people Jessie says this will feed. I like my slices bigger than that. We’ll have to argue about this the next time I see her. 

Dutch Process Cocoa

Go the extra mile and get Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. The rich color that it lends to the cake is perfect. And I prefer the flavor. Sift your cocoa if it seems the slightest bit lumpy.

Table Salt

The recipe calls for table salt and I’m always telling you to use sea salt…I used sea salt and it was fab. Use either and don’t worry about it.

Vegetable Oil

I always want you to use Sunflower Seed Oil as I love how it imparts zero flavor into whatever you bake with it. That’s the one I would recommend for this cake as well.

Espresso Powder

I popped open a Nespresso pod and put the finely ground espresso in there as I didn’t have any espresso powder. Wanted to share in case you found yourself in the same predicament.

Strawberries

I bought fresh strawberries to make this and then several days passed and then they were worthless. I grabbed some frozen strawberries, let them defrost to room temp and then proceeded with the frosting recipe.

Pink Food Dye

I used two drops of Americolor Electric Pink to amp up the pink color HOWEVER, I was deeply conflicted about using the dye because the soft pink that the strawberries imparted on the frosting was gorgeous. So, don’t panic if you don’t have any pink food dye or don’t want to use it. It will still be so pretty!! 

Before you get started, take a peek at my Top 10 Cake Tips for perfect cakes, every time!

Chocolate Birthday Cake With Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting

Chocolate Birthday Cake with Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting is a rich, chocolate cake covered in a heady layer of fresh strawberry frosting. Recipe courtesy my awesome friend and cookbook author, Jessie Sheehan — thanks Jessie!! xo

5 from 4 reviews

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Chocolate Cake

Keyword: strawberry desserts, chocolate cake, strawberry marshmallow frosting, fresh strawberries

Servings: 16

Author: Jessie Sheehan

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 cups (240 g) cake flour, ( sifted)
• 3/4 cup (60 g) Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, (sifted)
• 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, (packed)
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 2 large egg yolks (room temperature, save the whites for the frosting)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil (Sunflower Seed Oil or other light oil)
• 1 cup (240 g) sour cream, (room temperature)
• 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder

For the Strawberry Marshmallow Buttercream

• 1 cup (150 g) sliced strawberries, (plus more for decorating)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup (100 g) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (or more to taste)
• Sprinkles

Instructions

For the Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13-by-9-by-2-in pan with nonstick cooking spray or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
• Add the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed until well combined.
• In a small bowl, or in a large 4-cup liquid measuring cup (my preference), add the egg, egg yolks, vanilla, oil, and sour cream and whisk until combined. With the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Beat until incorporated, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• In the same small bowl/measuring cup, no need to clean it, combine the boiling water and espresso powder and add to the batter in the mixer bowl. Mix again on medium speed for 30 seconds, until smooth, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The batter will be quite thin
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 28 to 32 minutes, rotating at the halfway point. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a moist crumb or two. Let cool completely in the pan. Or let cool enough so you can comfortably handle it, and invert the cake on to a serving plate to continue cooling. If you would rather serve slices directly from the pan, let cool to room temp before frosting.

For the Buttercream

• In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, or in a blender, process the berries until pureed. Place a sieve over a small bowl, pour the puree into the sieve, and using a rubber spatula, press the puree through the sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside.
• Add the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar, and salt in the now-cleaned bowl of the stand mixer and nestle it in a saucepan of simmering water over medium-high heat. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Whisk until the mixture is just warm to the touch. Remove the bowl from the heat, add the puree and transfer it to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until stiff and glossy, about 7 minutes. Add the lemon juice and whisk a final time to combine.
• Once the cake is cool, generously frost it and sprinkle the top with pink sanding sugar or sprinkles. The frosted cake is best served within a few hours with a few sliced strawberries on each plate – or, a scoop of strawberry ice cream – I mean this is a birthday cake, after all.

Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo

Recipe reprinted with permission from Jessie Sheehan! Thank you so much Jessie for letting me share this gorgeous recipe of yours. Go follow her on social @jessiesheehanbakes.