Chocolate Bombe

Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions (using the required water, eggs and oil as directed on your package – my boxed mix called for 1/2 cup of oil, 1-1/3 cup water, and 3 eggs, as listed in the above ingredients list). Once the batter is fully mixed, divide evenly into the three pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Reserve a few strawberries for garnish. Pureé enough of the remaining fresh strawberries to measure 1 cup of purée and set aside.

In a small microwave safe bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the strawberry concentrate; let stand for five minutes. Then, microwave the mixture on high power one minute. Stir until gelatin dissolves; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream until stiff. Set aside for a moment.

In another mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Blend in the 1 cup of strawberry pureé. Gradually add gelatin mixture and blend until smooth. Whisk in the whipped cream; set aside.

Line a 12-cup capacity bowl with 2-3 long sheets of plastic wrap, allowing ends of plastic wrap to hang over the sides of the bowl by at least 6 inches.

Gently press one cake layer into the bottom of the bowl. Spoon about one-half of the strawberry filling over the cake layer then top with another layer of cake. Spread remaining strawberry filling over the second layer of the cake; top with the third layer of cake. Gently press down. Cover the cake with the loose ends of the plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour (you can refrigerate overnight as well).

Line a baking sheet with a piece of waxed paper or baking parchment. Place a simple line-art butterfly pattern under the paper.

Mix chocolate chips and oil in microwave safe bowl, microwave on high in 10-15 second intervals, stirring until chocolate is smooth and melted. Spoon into a pastry bag or a resealable plastic sandwich bag with the tip of a corner snipped. Trace the butterfly pattern with the chocolate on top of the parchment paper. Move the pattern around the pan, tracing as many butterflies as you’d like to make. When finished, place the chocolate butterflies in the freezer for at least an hour until chocolate has hardened.

When ready to serve, mix the confectioner’s sugar with the remaining cream until stiff. This will be your whipped cream topping. Uncover the bowl (that has the cake bombe in it). Invert onto a serving platter; remove and discard plastic wrap. Frost the cake bombe with the sweetened whipped cream.

Put prepared chocolate frosting in a microwave safe bowl and warm on high for about 15 seconds. Then, dip a knife into the frosting and drizzle chocolate over the frosted cake in a swirling pattern. Top with chocolate butterflies and add a berry on top for garnish. Don’t pull the butterflies out of the freezer too long before you add them to the cake as they softened quickly.