Strawberry-rhubarb pie

The easy strawberry cake

Strawberry shortcake - traditional and northern American

strawberries and whipped cream filled scones and sponge cakes

Strawberry sorbet

Strawberry sorbet in my ice cream maker. So fresh! So delicious!

Tarts and crostata

sweet:

fruit tart

fruit tart

banana tarte-tatin

savory:

tomato tart

shrimp veggie tart

strawberry crostata:

Valentines, Birthday, and such

One of  the cakes in my cake to do list is the sacher torte. Along with the Swedish Prinsesstarta, the German Donauwellen, the Austrian Sacher torte seems to be world renowned. I had never tasted any of these, until I made them. I had come  across mentions of these online. Actually I first read of the Hotel Sacher in a Betty Neels novel  long time ago! In any case, this Valentines I planned on making the Sacher torte. As it is my birthday time too, it was doubly exciting. Tummy travels! get it? like time travel? hehe .
And there is the Chinese New Year too!  The recipe I followed had the cake in three layers, while the original has two. Next time, I will stick to two.

Here is a  slice of my Sacher torte, served with the traditional unsweetened whipped cream.

As it is Valentines, one has to have strawberries and chocolate.

And something fruity and sweet and with a kick 

Hence, the strawberry jello shots:

and a milder cocktail:

So,  a berry mimosa

but then what is a birthday and a New Year without payasam? Palpayasam it is.

Chocolate dome cake with fresh strawberry filling

I made this cake for Valentine's day this year. Inspired by various online sources for pinata and dome cakes. Naturally, it is a fusion of all those.

chocolate dome cake with fresh strawberry and whipped cream filling

For the chocolate cake, I used my usual chocolate cake recipe, (Ina Garten's) - the one for an  8 inch round double-layered chocolate cake. You may use any other moist chocolate cake recipe you have, as long as you have enough batter for:
 1. an 8 inch dome pan/bowl and 2. a regular 8 inch x 2 inch round cake pan.
Wilton has a dome cake pan set which makes it all easier, but really we don't need that. It would be good to have one of those stainless steel trivets to hold the dome pan in place, both while we pour the batter in, and while we bake it in the oven.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease the pans liberally. Line the regular round with parchment too, after greasing. Grease the parchment too.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. The dome pan should just be  three quarters full, leaving enough room for the batter to rise as it bakes. Pour the remaining batter into the round pan.

Bake the dome cake for 45-50 minutes. Check to see if it's done in the center. Depending on your bowl and your oven, you may have to bake it longer, till a thin skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The other round cake was done in 15 minutes in my oven.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack. Let it cool completely. Overnight if you want. Don't put away the dome pan yet - we have use for it later. Once the second cake is done baking, invert that onto another rack, and remove that parchment off it. Let it cool too.

While it cools, we make the frosting for the outermost decoration. I used buttercream frosting for that.

Buttercream frosting recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter
2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp vanilla
upto 3 tbsps heavy cream or milk

Beat butter. Add 2 cups of the sugar. Add the salt, vanilla, 2 tbsp of the cream or milk. Beat well. Add  more milk or sugar little by little according to get to the consistency you want.


Once the cake is cooled, get that dome pan( washed and dried) and line it with plastic wrap, with enough wrap hanging out - very important! :)
Now place the cooled cake back in it, and leaving about 2 inches on the outside, score a circle in the cake using a sharp knife. An offset spatula comes in handy to scoop out some of the cake - cut it in pieces with the knife, use the spatula to lift the pieces- leaving a depression which you will fill later with that filling. When you scoop out the cake, be careful not to go too deep. Now I don't know if this helped, but I applied a thin layer of the buttercream frosting into that depression so as to seal it. Then I covered the pan with plastic wrap and chilled the whole thing for over an hour. Cut a very thin layer in a circle from the other cake too.

Now is the time to clean and dry the strawberries. And to make the whipped cream frosting or as they call it creme chantilly.

Creme Chantilly recipe:

1 cup cold, heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Beat until stiff peaks form. 

Slice the strawberries in half, and mix them with the whipped cream.
Fill the cavity of the dome cake which by the way is still inside the lined pan. Smear some of the buttercream frosting along the edge of the dome, so that it acts as a sealnt,  and invert the other (round) cake  onto the dome cake, like a lid. Press down gently and firmly. Cover again with plastic wrap. Chill. Chill. Chill. Preferably overnight. (You can make some cookies while it chills, or do something else or nothing :)

Now, make the chocolate ganache.

Ganache recipe:

5 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp butter

Chop the chocolate finely into a mid size bowl. Bring the cream and butter to a boil.  While still hot, pour it gently  into the chocolate and stir well till smooth and shiny.


Bring out the chilled pan with the cake in it. Carefully invert it onto a rack . Take the plastic wrap off the cake carefully. Pour the silky still a little warm ganache on top of the cake, making sure it coats the whole cake. Let it set for a few minutes. At this point you may decorate it with truffles or strawberries. Gently transfer the cake onto a cake circle.( I chilled the cake at this point, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for an hour or so. )

Now fill a decorating bag fitted with a Wilton #3 plain round tip, with that buttercream frosting and do whatever design you want on the cake. Or you could just leave it plain  or with that  garnish of  sliced or whole strawberries.

chocolate dome cake with strawberry filling

The whole cake can be made a day ahead. Just has to be kept chilled. Just be sure to take it out of the refrigerator a half an hour before serving .

chocolate dome cake slice