I made this cake for Valentine's Day, but it would work just as well for any other special occasion. It is comprised of three layers: vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. The great thing about this cake is that it's very versatile. I had fun using two types of icing: buttercream and some chocolate ganache. Yummo!

Vanilla, Strawberry, and Chocolate Layer Cake (aka Crazy Broken Heart Valentines Cake : )
by emily

I apologize if the recipe seems long, I just like lots of notes, in case of, well, anything : )

For Cake:
4 eggs
200 g of butter (about 2 sticks of butter)
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cups sugar (I did the lesser amount, as Belorussians like un-sweet sweets, but you will probably want the higher amount)
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups of flour (you may need more if the mixture seems over-wet)
3 tsp baking powder
*feel free to substitute one of the other with the "creams" - the combination just gives it a great texture

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Butter and flour three pans.

Sift together flour and baking powder and set aside.

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Mix in sugar until dissolved. Add butter and cream for about 3-5 min. Stir in oil and vanilla. Then add the milk, cream, and sour cream until just combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix together until moistened. Don't overmix as we are still adding things to each layer.

Divide into three separate bowls with room for mixing. There should be about 5 cups of liquid give or take a little. Once divided, add the layer ingredients below.

For the Strawberry Layer:
1/4 - 1/2 cup strawberry puree

To make the puree use fresh or frozen strawberries and puree in blender until smooth. Run through fine sieve to get rid of seeds. If using frozen (as I did) make sure they are mostly thawed first.

The amount of puree is adjustable to how "strong" you want the strawberry flavor. If you add more strawberry be sure to add a few more tbsp of flour so that the mixture isn't too liquid-y.

For Chocolate Layer:
1/4 cup cocoa
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp butter
50 grams chocolate

Melt chocolate, butter, cream in a small pan on low heat. Once melted and combined stir in the cocoa with a whisk. Mix with the rest of the ingredients (for that portion)

Pour each flavor mixture into the separated batter. I cooked each layer individually and they took about 15 minutes each. If you cook two or more I'd say 25 minutes or more depending on your oven. Just keep a sharp eye on them.

Once the cake is baked and cooled (be sure to cool or they will break apart), assemble the cake by placing the vanilla layer on a prepared platter. Cover in buttercream icing, then add strawberry layer and cover that in frosting. Do the same with the chocolate layer. I cover the top of the cake with buttercream frosting and the sides with chocolate ganache. Then piped the buttercream around the edges. Be creative and good luck! (frosting recipes below)

Okay, Frosting:
(i know, I know - more .... but trust me, if you do it while the cake bakes, it's not too bad)
Note: the frosting recipes are not my own, although I modified a bit : )

Buttercream:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Cream the butter on medium speed.  Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup milk with the flour and vanilla extract.  Whisk together until there are no lumps.  Over medium heat, slowly add the remaining 3/4 cups milk, whisking constantly and cook until the mixture comes to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue mixing until the mixture starts to thicken .  

When the mixture starts to thicken, immediately remove the pan from the heat but keep stirring.  After you have removed the pan from the heat, the mixture will continue to cook for a minute or two on its own.  

If you overheat the mixture and find that you have some lumps, try to whisk them out or pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.  Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (I stuck in the freezer).  

With the mixer on low speed, slowly poor the milk mixture into the butter and sugar mixture.  Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Chocolate Gnache:
(wow was this stuff good, you don't want to miss it)

3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I used part of a dark chocolate bar)

Melt all ingredients in small pan, let cool a bit before frosting as it will thicken more and make less of a mess.

Notes on the Frosting:
*I put buttercream frosting between each layer, but feel free to use the chocolate ganache instead. Just be sure to double the recipe in that case and half the buttercream one.

Notes on Cake:
*Be sure to pay attention to the moisture of each part of the cake as you mix it. Adjust accordingly. If a layer becomes to liquid-y, add a bit more flour/cocoa etc. If not wet enough, add some milk/oil/combination thereof. (the Strawberry layer is the one I would be worried about if you add more puree)

*If you don't like strawberries or want to change it up, I think cherries would be awesome in the middle layer.

*If you don't have fresh or frozen strawberries/cherries, try using jam. Puree as you would with the other and run through sieve to get rid of chunks.

*All of these layers could be make separately as a whole cake. Simple triple the "layer" you want. If you want the strawberry layer just use 3/4 cup of strawberry puree. See? (P.S. the chocolate was my fave, so if you're gonna go for just one .... ; )

*whew!*

Well, I hope all that made sense. Did it? Let me know in comments if you made it and how it turned out! I'd love to know!

xoxo Em