Madelyn's Creation: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

My daughter and I had an entire day to ourselves and I asked her what she wanted to do.  "I want to create something new for Cooking Creation!"  One of the greatest joys that I have experienced from this food blog is seeing my daughter get excited about cooking.  We went through the fridge and pantry to see what ingredients we had to work with and she came up with a plan.  After some brainstorming, she drew a picture in the living room, came back in the kitchen with her hat and apron on, and said, "I want to make chocolate cake with strawberries and strawberry-flavored jello."  We gathered the ingredients and went to work.  Chocolate cake wasn't quite enough - she wanted whole chocolate chips in it, too.  After the cake was done baking, we poked holes in it and poured some liquid jello on top so it could seep into the cake.  Yum!  We then chilled the cake in the fridge.  The last step was to top the cake with strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate syrup.  The results?  Amazing.  My little 8-year-old sous chef really has a knack for this baking stuff!  

Ingredients:

• 1 package strawberry jello
• 1/2 c butter, room temperature 
• 3/4 c sugar 
• 1/4 c whole milk 
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 c chocolate chips
• Strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced 
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate syrup 

Directions:

Prepare the jello according to package instructions but skip the chilling step.  Set aside to allow the liquid jello to cool.  

Meanwhile, Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream the butter. sugar and milk together.  Beat in the the eggs one at a time.  In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda and stir in the salt.  

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, being careful to not over mix.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 9-inch pie plate.  

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool.  

Using a chopstick or a pointy object, poke holes in the cake about 1 inch apart.  Pour 1/3 c of the liquid jello over top of the cake.  Cover and place the cake in the refrigerator for 3 hours.  

Layer the sliced strawberries on top of the cake and add whipped cream.  Drizzle chocolate syrup over all.

Enjoy!