No birthday is properly celebrated unless cake and candles are involved. Last week my little brother turned the Sweet Sixteen. When you turn sixteen hanging out with your friends on your birthday is much cooler than hanging out with your family which is why we saved the cake celebration for this week. Instead of picking up a generic cake from the local market I decided to make a homemade dark chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. After frosting the cake, I opted to decorate it using fresh strawberries. I love to combine both vanilla and chocolate because you are able to taste a little of both flavors in one bite. Chocolate on chocolate … to rich, Vanilla on Vanilla … not my thing, BUT Chocolate cake with Vanilla frosting is my favorite. I used this buttercream frosting recipe and this dark chocolate cake recipe.