CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY JAM AND CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (NATURALLY COLORED)

     I can't stop thinking about summer these days. I know it's a little too early to be even thinking about sunny days, bathing in cold seas and having a tan, but I cannot help it really. With all the new swimsuit lines being out there and friends from Greece saying how the weather is so much sunnier than here in Switzerland. On the other hand, I have planned a 6 day trip to the mountains next week with some good friends and it all seems scary as hell. We will stay all together in a big chalet appartment, spend endless hours of skiing or walking in snow, drink a lot of hot chocolate and be merry all the time! 

     I really cannot wait for next week to come. And the best thing about it is I am spending Valentine's day in the mountains for the first time. How romantic is that? Outside being white from all the snow and inside us getting some comfort food and warmth. I can't think of any other better way to spend this day. Maybe if we had some cake with us to celebrate it properly? Like this amazing chocolate cake I made the other day. I decided to make a layer cake, since it had been a long time I haven't made one and the truth is I love them. 

     I had an idea to make a cake for two that looked and tasted like love. Sounds cheesy right? Well, if you are going to celebrate Valentine's Day it has to be a bit cheesy. The base is a chocolate cake which was inspired by greek pastry chef Stelios Parliaros who I can always trust for a perfect recipe of dessert. He is a true master of all kinds of pastries and very famous in Greece. His recipe relies purely on the magic of fluffy egg mixture. And this is the trickiest part of the cake base, as you really have to beat the eggs in the mixer for a long time, but not too long. But once you get this part over with, everything else is...a piece of cake!

Chocolate Layer cake with Strawberry Jam and Cream Cheese Frosting (naturally coloured)

ingredients

for cake (one 24cm diameter cake pan) *

5 eggs
130gr sugar
130gr all purposes flour
40gr cocoa powder

for layer

jar of strawberry jam

cream cheese frosting

200gr cream cheese softened
200gr butter softened well
1 cup icing sugar (shifted)
1 tablespoon beet juice for colouring

How do I make it?

1. First step. is to make the cake. In a stand mixer (or in a bowl if you are using hand mixer) put the eggs and the sugar and start mixing on high speed until the eggs with sugar get really fluffy and creamy. You will notice a somewhat light beige or white mixture. It takes about or more than 10 minutes to get this consistency. 
2. Once the mixture is ready, pour in the flour and cocoa powder using a shifter to avoid lumps inside the cake mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix and NOT the mixer. We don't want the egg mixture to lose its air and form. This is what's going to make the cake rise and be perfect.
3. Butter and flour your pan and preheat the oven to 170C. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Once it's ready, let it cool outside or better yet let it in the fridge overnight.
4. When it's time to assemble the cake take the cake out of the pan carefully and using a sharp and wide surfaced knife try cutting the cake horizontally to get two bases of cake. As you try to cut with the knife, try shifting around the cake to get an even surface.
5. Put one layer on a cake stand. Take your jar of strawberry jam and start spreading tablespoons of jam on the cake layer leaving one or two cm around the sides without jam.  Once you are done put the cake inside the fridge to chill until you make the cream cheese frosting.
6. In a mixer, put the cream cheese and butter together and start mixing at medium to high speed. Gradually start pouring inside the icing sugar. Once the mixture starts getting smooth stop the mixer. Pour inside one tablespoon of beet juice and with a rubber spatula try to mix again the frosting until it gets a rosy pink colour.
7. Take out your cake. Put some of your frosting in an icing bag and fill the uncovered sides of the layer cake where you didn't put any jam in a circular motion. Then, put on top the other layer cake. Cover it with the remaining frosting in your icing bag and the rest of the frosting in the mixing bowl until you've covered the top and the sides of the layer cake. Use a spatula for this purpose in order to get a smooth surface. Or you can decorate your cake in a different way with your icing bag. Here are some ideas of decorating. 
8. Serve in plates or keep in the fridge for later.

*recipe courtesy of Stelios Parliaros