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Deliciously Simple Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cake to Try Today

Easy Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cake with layers of chocolate and strawberries.
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A rich and moist single-layer chocolate cake with a crunchy pistachio knafeh layer, juicy strawberries, and silky chocolate ganache. It’s an unforgettable dessert that blends Middle Eastern texture with classic indulgence.

Ingredients

Scale

Chocolate cake:

1 cup all purpose flour (130g)

¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 egg

⅓ cup vegetable oil (65g)

½ cup buttermilk (120g) – mix ½ cup milk + ½ tablespoon vinegar to make your own

1 tsp instant coffee (can be reduced to ½ tsp if you prefer)

¼ cup boiling water (60g)

¼ cup cocoa powder (25g)

Pistachio knafeh:

3 cups shredded kataifi (100g)

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (56g)

¼ tsp salt

⅔ cup pistachio cream (185g)

Chocolate ganache:

½ cup heavy cream (120g)

120g dark or semi-sweet chocolate (chopped or chips)

Serving:

Fresh strawberries, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line a 9-inch cake pan.

2. If making buttermilk, mix milk and vinegar and set aside.

3. In a bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add egg, oil, and buttermilk. Mix gently until combined.

5. In another bowl, whisk boiling water with cocoa and coffee until smooth.

6. Stir the cocoa mixture into the cake batter until glossy.

7. Pour into pan and bake for 20–23 minutes until moist crumbs appear on a toothpick.

8. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to serving plate.

9. For the knafeh, cook kataifi with butter and salt for ~10 mins until golden and crisp.

10. Mix in pistachio cream and stir well. Set aside.

11. To make ganache, pour boiling cream over chocolate, cover 5 mins, then stir until glossy. Let cool 10 mins.

12. Spread cooled knafeh layer on top of cake.

13. Top with fresh chopped strawberries.

14. Pour ganache over strawberries. Slice and serve.

Notes

Storage: Best eaten the same day due to fresh strawberries. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Make-ahead: You can prep the cake, knafeh, and ganache ahead. Warm the knafeh to spread and ganache to pour before serving.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://voxrecipes.com/dubai-chocolate-strawberry-cake/