Chocolate cake with strawberry filling and pistachio buttercream / Pistage och jordgubbstårta

• 3 dl flour
• 3.5 dl sugar
• 2 dl cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 0,6 dl natural tasting oil
• 1,75 dl milk
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 dl light coffee
• 2 eggs

• 250 g strawberries (I used frozen)
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 0.5 tsp agar agar powder (can be substituted by 1 tsp gelatin powder, can also be skipped but cook for longer time until thick)
• 2 dl whipping cream
• 300 g cream cheese, I use philadelphia
• 2 dl icing sugar
• 1 pinch of vanilla powder (optional)

• 6 egg whites
• 3.75 dl sugar
• 350 g butter, soft but cooler than room temperature
• Pistachio butter made of 80 g pistachios (or buy)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• salt to taste (optional)
• Chopped pistachios for topping (optional)

Chocolate cakes:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and flour four round baking pans (15-18 cm) and place some parchment paper in the bottom of each pan. I made four thin cakes but if you want, you can make three thicker. You can also use three larger pans to make thinner cakes, but the final result will not be a high cake like this.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the vinegar with the milk. Add all remaining ingredients (milk too) to the dry ingredients and whisk together. Pour the batter into the baking pans and try to distribute them evenly. I like to weigh the pans with batter to be sure to get equal thick layers.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Try with a toothpick to see if it comes out dry.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool a few minutes before taking them out from the pans. Let cool completely before putting together the layers.

Filling:

In a saucepan add the strawberries, lemon juice and water. Let boil until the strawberries are soft. Use a handblender to blend the berries and make it to a strawberry sauce. Put the sauce back on medium heat and mix in the agar agar powder (easier if you mix it out with a teaspoon of cold water beforw adding to the berries). Keep stirring and let boil (active boiling) for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool in room temperature.

Whip the whipping cream until thick.

Whip together the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla. Add  the raspberry sauce (should not be hot anymore, but lukewarm is good), and whip together fast. Add the whipped cream and quickly fold it together with a spatula.

Filling the cake:

If the cake layers are uneven, you can cut of the top to make them flat.

I recommend you to use a cake ring to support the cake, but you can also make without. Spread a 1 – 1,5 cm thick layer of the strawberry filling on the first cake. Add the second layer of cake and do the same thing.  Add the third layer of cake and repeat same procedure. Top with the fourth layer of cake and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Meringue buttercream:

Take the butter out from the fridge and cut into 1.5 cm large cubes.

Whisk together egg whites and sugar. Boil some water and place the bowl with egg and sugar on top of the saucepan. Do not touch the water with the bowl, and keep the water simmering.

Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved (70 degrees C). Remove the bowl from the water and whisk with an electric mixer until stiff peaks forms. Add  butter one cube at a time and mix with a paddle attachment (whisk if not paddle is available, but the paddle will give you less air bubbles). When the buttercream is smooth and nice, you can beat it quickly with a whisk again if needed. Don’t worry if it looks thick, runny, or curdly while you are making it. It will look perfect when you are done with it. If too runny, let chill for 20 minutes in fridge, and whisk again. Of too thick, let it warm up in room temperature.

When the buttercream is nice and smooth, add the pistachio butter. You make the butter by mixing the pistachios in a blender for about 10 minues. If you buy the butter, you will need around 3 tablespoons, but add less and taste, and add more until you get the perfect taste and colour. Add salt and some vanilla if you like too.

Cover the cake in the buttercream. I like to make a thin layer, put back in the fridge and then cover with the desired amount. That keeps the cake crumbs away from the outer layer. Decorate the cake as you want (I topped with some chopped pistachios). Store in the fridge.

Enjoy your cake and your nice work! And follow me on Instagram (Click here) for all the updates!