Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Rich and fudgy chocolate cake with strawberry jam filling and strawberry cream cheese frosting

Cook until thickened: In a small pot, stir together strawberries, granulated sugar, and water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Be careful as the foam can bubble up as it boils. Continue cooking until the boiling subsides and the mixture thickens into a jammy consistency. The jam should part when you drag a spatula through it and then slowly come back together after a few seconds.
Cool: Transfer the jam to a small bowl and let it cool completely in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 6" round cake pans with parchment paper rounds. Set aside.
Dry mixture: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Wet mixture: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs and whisk together until smooth.
Combine into batter: Alternate adding half of the flour mixture and then half of the milk, mixing until just combined after each addition.
Fill pans: Divide the batter evenly into your prepared cake pans (about 540g of batter in each pan). Use a spatula to smooth the surface of the batter or give the pans a quick spin on the counter.
Bake: Bake cakes for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with some crumbs attached.
Cool: Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before running an offset spatula around the edges of the cakes to release them from the pan. Turn them out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely before assembling the cake.

Cream butter and cream cheese: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat softened butter until it becomes very creamy. Add the cream cheese and continue beating until the cream cheese is smooth and creamy.
Beat frosting: Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Add the strawberry jam and vanilla extract and beat again until combined, stopping to scrape down the bowl once. Transfer a small portion of the frosting to a piping bag and cut the tip off.

Prep cake layers: Use a serrated knife to level the cake layers (if there's any doming) and cut them in half to make four cake layers.
Frosting ring: On a cake turntable, lay down the first cake layer. Pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cake.
Fillings: Add about 4 tablespoons of strawberry jam in the middle of the frosting ring and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Add diced strawberries on top of the jam and arrange into an even layer.
Repeat: Top with the next cake layer and repeat with the rest of the filling and cake layers.
Crumb coat: Apply a thin layer of frosting to the cake as a crumb coat and scrape away the excess with a cake scraper.
Frost and decorate: Apply a final coat of frosting and smooth with a scraper. Use your spatula to add some swirls in the frosting. Press halved strawberries on top of the frosting to decorate the cake.