A deliciously light four-layer vanilla sponge cake with strawberry buttercream and a dark chocolate ganache drip. This beautiful drip cake is perfect for any occasion.
Learn how to bake, stack and decorate your own impressive layer cake. I'll share the easy techniques I use for icing a tall cake and show you exactly how I add the chocolate drip.
I want you to bear in mind that I'm not a professional baker, I'm completely self-taught. Every recipe on this blog is written with you in mind and if I can do it so can you!
Whether that's a simple no-bake cheesecake or something more involved like my popular Kinder Cake with a white chocolate gold drip.
A drip cake might seem like it's going to require more effort on your part but I can assure you, making this on-trend cake is really easy.
Basic Four-Layer Vanilla Cake
I've used a really basic vanilla sponge recipe for the cake. It's a staple recipe which is very quick to make. It stacks really well and can withstand any frosting and decorations you want to add.
I baked the vanilla sponge in my (affiliate link) 7" Wham Layer Cake Tins. They only cost about £10.00 and come as a set of 5. I decided 4 layers for this cake would be plenty.
I use the Wham tins a lot to make layer cakes - I find using individual shallow tins much easier than slicing baked cakes in half to get the layers.
Strawberry Buttercream
I paired the vanilla sponge with strawberry jam and buttercream. This is a standard buttercream with freeze-dried strawberries incorporated for flavour and to add the pretty pink colouring.
I made strawberry buttercream for the first time when I did these Strawberry Filled Cupcakes. I was so impressed with how it was packed full of real strawberry flavour, I was excited to make the buttercream again for a bigger cake.
Chocolate Ganache
I love the contrast of the dark chocolate drip on this cake. Making a chocolate ganache with dark chocolate is really easy. For dark chocolate ganache the ratio is 1:1 or in other words equal parts chocolate to double cream.
To make the chocolate ganache, chop the chocolate into small pieces and pour hot cream onto the chocolate. Let the cream sit for a couple of minutes and then stir vigorously until you have a silky smooth and pourable ganache to use for the drip.
I decorated the cake with some sprinkles pressed into the bottom of the cake and big swirls of strawberry buttercream on top with a fresh strawberry pushed into each swirl.
How to make a Strawberry Drip Cake
For the vanilla sponge
Step One: Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 160ºC Fan / Gas 4 / 350ºF. Prepare the baking tins by spraying them with cake release or line them with greaseproof paper.
Step Two: In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using an electric handheld whisk. Mix until pale and smooth.
Step Three: Add the eggs to the creamed butter one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and beat slowly, mixing until no white streaks of flour are visible. Take care not to overmix.
Step Four: Add the vanilla extract and milk and fold into the mixture using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
Step Five: Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in the tins to cool.
For the strawberry buttercream
Step One: Add the room temperature butter to a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and handheld electric whisk) and beat for a couple of minutes until pale yellow and creamy. Next, add in the icing sugar half a cup at a time.
Step Two: Once you’ve added all the icing sugar, pour in the vanilla and milk and continue to beat until it’s smooth and creamy.
Step Three: Meanwhile, blitz the freeze-dried strawberries to a powder. You can do this using a pestle and mortar, a food processor or coffee grinder. Grind until you have a very fine powder.
Step Four: Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder to the buttercream and mix thoroughly.
Stacking and assembly
Step One: Turn the cakes out of the tins and place one of the sponges on to a cake stand or turntable. You can use a few dots of buttercream to 'glue' it down and stop it from moving.
Step Two: Transfer a quarter of the buttercream to a piping bag with a large open tip fitted (or don't use a nozzle and snip the end of the bag off).
Pipe a circle of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake then fill the hole in the middle with 2-3 tablespoons of jam.
Step Three: Pipe more buttercream on top of the jam and use a palette knife to smooth it out.
Repeat for the remaining layers.
Step Four: Pile half of the remaining buttercream on top of the stacked cakes and use a palette knife to spread it across the top and down the sides of the cake. Use a cake smoother or palette knife to smooth out the buttercream.
For the chocolate ganache
Chop the chocolate finely and put it into a heatproof bowl. Add the cream to a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Remove the cream from the heat just before it comes to the boil then pour it over the chopped chocolate.
Let the chocolate and cream sit for a few minutes then mix vigorously until you have a glossy, smooth and pourable ganache. Leave the ganache to cool for a few minutes.
Adding the chocolate drip
There are a few ways to decorate a drip cake. You can add the 'drip' - in our case, the chocolate ganache - to a piping bag with a small round nozzle fitted or a piping bag with the end snipped off. This will result in an even, neat and uniform drip.
You could also use a plastic squeezy bottle to get a similar effect.
The very even drips look lovely but I wanted to make this as easy as possible so I've gone with the spoon method. This basically means you use a spoon to add the drip directly to the cake.
Before you do this on the cake I would recommend practising by dripping the chocolate down the side of the bowl. You will be able to judge how quickly the drip is flowing. If it flows really quickly leave it a couple of minutes then practice again.
When you can see the ganache is flowing steadily, drip a spoonful off the top of the cake making your way around in a circle until your drip is complete.
Pour the leftover ganache on top of the cake and use a palette knife to smooth it out.
Final flourish
To finish off the Strawberry Drip Cake, press colourful sprinkles into the bottom of the cake. Add the remaining buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle and pipe large swirls on top of the chocolate ganache.
Place a fresh strawberry on top of each swirl. Slice the cake into pieces and enjoy!
Notes and tips
- You can bake this cake in two 8" (20cm) cake tins or four 7" (18cm) tins.
- If you can't find any freeze-dried strawberries use 2 teaspoons of strawberry flavouring instead.
- Practice your drip technique on the side of a bowl before doing the real drip on your cake.
- If the ganache is too thick add a teaspoon of boiling water.
- Storage: Strawberry Drip Cake will keep fresh in the fridge for 2-3 days. It's best eaten at room temperature.
More Tempting Cake Recipes
- Kinder Cake
- Chocolate Orange Cake
- Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
- Carrot Bundt Cake
- Beautiful Letter Cake
- Vanilla Naked Cake
Strawberry Drip Cake
A light four-layer vanilla sponge cake with strawberry buttercream and a dark chocolate ganache drip. This beautiful drip cake is perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Vanilla Layer Cake
- 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 225 g caster sugar
- 225 g self raising flour, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp whole milk
Strawberry Buttercream
- 230 g unsalted butter
- 500 g icing sugar
- 50 ml whole milk
- 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 g freeze-dried strawberries
Dark Chocolate Ganache Drip
- 75 g 70% cocoa chocolate
- 75 ml double cream
Decoration
- sprinkles
- 10 strawberries
Instructions
Vanilla Layer Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 160ºC Fan / Gas 4 / 350ºF. Prepare the baking tins by spraying them with cake release or line them with greaseproof paper.
- In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using an electric handheld whisk. Mix until pale and smooth.
- Add the eggs to the creamed butter one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and beat slowly, mixing until no white streaks of flour are visible. Take care not to overmix.
- Add the vanilla extract and milk and fold into the mixture using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in the tins to cool.
Strawberry Buttercream
- Add the room temperature butter to a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and handheld electric whisk) and beat for a couple of minutes until pale yellow and creamy. Next, add in the icing sugar half a cup at a time.
- Once you’ve added all the icing sugar, pour in the vanilla and milk and continue to beat until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Meanwhile, blitz the freeze-dried strawberries to a powder. You can do this using a pestle and mortar, a food processor or coffee grinder. Grind until you have a very fine powder.
- Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder to the buttercream and mix thoroughly.
Stacking and Assembly
- Turn the cakes out of the tins and place one of the sponges on to a cake stand or turntable. You can use a few dots of buttercream to 'glue' it down and stop it from moving.
- Transfer a quarter of the buttercream to a piping bag with a large open tip fitted (or don't use a nozzle and snip the end of the bag off). Pipe a circle of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake then fill the hole in the middle with 2-3 tablespoons of jam.
- Pipe more buttercream on top of the jam and use a palette knife to smooth it out. Repeat for the remaining layers.
- Pile half of the remaining buttercream on top of the stacked cakes and use a palette knife to spread it across the top and down the sides of the cake. Use a cake smoother or palette knife to smooth out the buttercream.
Chocolate Ganache Drip
- Chop the chocolate finely and put it into a heatproof bowl. Add the cream to a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Remove the cream from the heat just before it comes to the boil then pour it over the chopped chocolate.
- Let the chocolate and cream sit for a few minutes then mix vigorously until you have a glossy, smooth and pourable ganache. Leave the ganache to cool for a few minutes.
Adding The Drip
- Using a spoon, drip chocolate ganache off the top of the cake making your way around in a circle until your drip is complete.
To Decorate
- Press sprinkles into the bottom of the cake. Add the remaining buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle and pipe large swirls on top of the chocolate ganache. Place a fresh strawberry on top of each swirl.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 803Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 26gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 183mgSodium: 17mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 1gSugar: 73gProtein: 5g
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