Step 1

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep the cake pans. This recipe will fill two 3-inch deep 8-inch pans or two 2-inch deep 9-inch pans. Use softened butter to liberally grease the cake pans and line the bottom of the pan with a parchment circle.

Step 2

Make the cake! Add flour, shortening, and sugar to a food processor and pulse until the texture is that of sand. Dump the flour/sugar mixture into a large bowl. Stir in cocoa, espresso, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add oil, eggs, and water to the mixing bowl. Beat mixture on the lowest speed for 30 seconds until ingredients are moistened. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Step 3

Divide batter between cake pans and bake for 38-40 minutes. When you first test for doneness, open the oven door and use a hot pad to jiggle the oven rack. If the middle of the cake jiggles, it's not done yet - put it back in for a couple minutes! (If you stab with a toothpick too early, then it will deflate and possibly sink a little in the middle.) If the cake does not jiggle, insert a toothpick into the middle--it should come out with a few crumbs attached to it. Remove the cakes and place the pans on cooling racks. Cool in pans ten minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the cooling racks to cool completely.

Step 4

Make the strawberry buttercream! Beat the butter until it is fluffy. Beat in the minced strawberries. Beat in the sugar 1 cup at a time. Add as much pureed strawberries as you like until you reach the color and consistency you would like!

Step 5

Assemble your chocolate strawberry cake! Fit a piping bag with a 1/2 inch piping tip or cut a corner off a plastic bag so that the cut measures 1/2 inch. Fill the piping bag with buttercream. Pipe little 1-inch blobs of buttercream around the very outer edge of the first cake layer. Pipe buttercream in to fill the middle of the cake, within the ring of blobs. Gently place the second cake on top of the first layer. Spread buttercream across the top of the cake and decorate with whatever toppers you prefer!