2018 Birthday Cake

This was my 16 year old brother's birthday cake this year! It was a tall order, chocolate cake, homemade (of course) strawberry filling, and chocolate frosting, but I was ready for the challenge! This was probably the best tasting cake I have ever made! After the cake sat a day and the strawberry had time to absorb into the cake, it was outstanding! Here's a picture:

The 16 on top I got by melting semi-sweet Chocolate chips, spooning it into a Zip-lock bag, cutting a corner of the bag, and then piping a "1" and "6" on a piece of parchment paper. I then put it into the freezer until it hardened. I have never tried this before, but it worked really well!

The Strawberry filling was super easy; Just 3 ingredients! ( I slightly adapted this from Genius Kitchen.com)

Strawberry Filling:

2 1/2 Cups Strawberries (chopped finely)

1/2 Cup plus 1 Tbsp Sugar

2 3/4 Tbsp Cornstarch

Start by chopping the Strawberries up. (I did this by chopping them in half, and then in half again. then I chopped each side a few times. )

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, and stir gently. ( it helps if you mash the strawberries with your spoon. The original recipe stated this.) Bring the mixture to a boil, and then stir for 2 Minutes ( it will thicken). LET COOL BEFORE USING!! This is REALLY GOOD!!!

*This boils really fast, so keep an eye on it! Make sure to stir the whole time, as well* Enjoy!

Here's a picture of the cake with the filling inside. The filling makes enough to generously fill one 9 inch 2 layer cake, plus a little extra. The extra I topped on top of some ice-cream- it was DELICIOUS!! :)

Just a side view of the Cake:

Around the edges of the cake on the top and bottom I piped little stars. I also topped the top of the cake with some powdered sugar, because I thought it looked nice. Just a tip, wait until you serve the cake to add the powered sugar, because it will dissolve into the frosting if you wait too long!

I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! In March I will be doing a Down Syndrome Awareness Fundraiser so make sure to be keeping an eye out for that!