This coconut sugar-strawberry cake with velvety chocolate frosting is a Valentine’s Day dessert that won’t end in a sugar high. It’s super fluffy, has hints of vanilla, and is packed with juicy strawberries!
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Cake Recipe
This easy chocolate-frosted, two-layer strawberry cake will be your go-to dessert on the most romantic day of the year.
- No processed sugar. Coconut sugar and smokey maple syrup substitute the need for any processed sugars in the batter or frosting.
- Better than store-bought. A homemade cake is always better because you can use crunchy add-ins or turn it into a double-chocolate recipe.
- Perfect for Valentine’s Day. There’s no better dessert combination for Valentine’s Day than silky chocolate frosting and sweet strawberries.
- Prep-friendly. Get a head start by freezing the cake layers in advance so all you have to do is frost the cake right before dinner.
What You’ll Need
Butter and fruity coconut cream make the cake super rich, moist, and fluffy. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact ingredient amounts.
For the Cake
- Almond flour – This is also called “almond meal”.
- Tapioca flour – Rice flour works too.
- Coconut flour – Sieve it if it has any lumps.
- Baking powder – Don’t swap it for baking soda because the cake won’t rise.
- Salt – Kosher salt is best for this. Avoid coarse sea salt because it won’t dissolve into the batter.
- Lemon zest – You can also use orange or lime zest.
- Butter – I prefer unsalted butter. Skip the salt in the recipe if you use salted butter.
- Coconut sugar – Feel free to use light brown sugar instead.
- Eggs – Liquid eggs are great for this.
- Vanilla extract – Go for almond extract if that’s what you’ve got on hand.
- Coconut cream – Make sure it’s unsweetened and full-fat coconut.
- Strawberries – They can be fresh or frozen (thawed and drained).
For the Frosting
- Butter – It needs to be completely softened for a fluffy frosting.
- Coconut sugar – You can use light brown sugar or powdered sugar.
- Cocoa powder – It must be unsweetened. It’s not the same as chocolate milk powder.
- Maple syrup – Feel free to add agave nectar or raw honey.
- Vanilla extract – It helps round out the flavors but you can skip it.
- Salt – A pinch keeps the frosting’s sweetness in check.
- Strawberries – These must be fresh since they’re for decorating the cake.
How To Make Strawberry Cake With Chocolate Frosting
You’ll be swapping cake mixes and store-bought frosting for this homemade strawberry cake in no time. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe card.
- Prep the oven. Preheat it to 350F. Grease the cake pans with cooking spray. Set them aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. Mix the flours, baking powder, salt, and zest in a large bowl.
- Make the wet mixture. Whisk the melted butter, coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and coconut cream in a separate bowl until smooth.
- Combine them. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just-combined. Fold in the strawberries.
- Bake it. Pour the half of the batter into each greased baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool them. Remove them from the oven and let them rest until completely cooled.
- Make the frosting. Beat the butter and coconut sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue beating until smooth.
- Assemble the cake. Generously spread frosting over one cake. Do this in an even layer. Place the second cake layer on top. Add more frosting on top and along the sides. Spread it out.
- Decorate it. Place sliced strawberries all over the cake. Serve, slice, and enjoy!
Tips & Variations
You can use cream cheese frosting on this fluffy strawberry cake and even add cocoa powder and chocolate chips to the batter.
- Add protein. Mix 1 scoop vanilla protein powder into the dry ingredients and 3 tablespoons extra coconut cream into the batter for a simple dessert that’ll help keep you full longer.
- Use add-ins. Fold 1/4-1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, pecans, or shredded coconut into the batter for more texture.
- Line the pans. Sometimes even though the cake pans were greased, the cakes can stick. Prevent this by lining the bottom and/or sides of the pans with parchment paper. Don’t use foil.
- Swap the frosting. Change the chocolate frosting for your favorite vanilla, caramel, or cream cheese frosting for easy variations.
- Make it chocolatey. Stir 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the batter for an extra sweet treat.
- Leave it closed. Once the pans are in the oven, don’t open and close the oven door to check on the cakes. Doing so drops the temperature every time and will negatively affect the cakes’ final texture, resulting in chewy, dense, and rubbery crumbs.
Serving Suggestions
This decadent strawberry cake is the perfect afternoon sweet treat. Serve it with a cup of tea or your favorite coffee. Try it with my Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew or Iced Coffee. Matcha, golden milk, a Maca Latte, or Golden Maca Latte are other great options. You can also enjoy it with a glass of cold milk.
How To Store Homemade Strawberry Cake
You can store it whole, sliced, or in chunks.
- Fridge: Place it in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Keep it away from strong-smelling foods like onions and chilis.
- Freezer: This is for the unfrosted cake layers. Wrap each cake with plastic wrap twice. Place them in freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter for 1 hour. Frost as usual.
More Strawberry Desserts
- Double Chocolate Strawberry Coconut Brownies
- Strawberry Watermelon Granita
- Strawberry Chocolate Paleo Cake
Strawberry Cake
This fluffy strawberry cake recipe with homemade chocolate-maple frosting is an easy but impressive Valentine's Day dessert.
Servings: 16
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 cup coconut sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 ½ cup strawberries hulled and cut into large dice
Frosting:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 strawberries hulled and sliced thin {for topping}
Instructions
Cake:
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350° F. Grease two 9” cake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and coconut cream.
- Add the coconut cream mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain.
- Gently fold in diced strawberries
- Spoon batter into the prepared pan, dividing evenly
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before frosting.
Frosting:
- In an electric mixer add butter and beat until creamy. Add coconut sugar and blend, add cocoa powder and blend, add maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and blend until smooth.
- To assemble place 1 layer on a cake plate, top side down, and spread with frosting.
- Place the second cake layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides.
- To decorate the cake place sliced strawberries around perimeter of top of cake in a circle.
