This pretty Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Joconde Entremet for Valentine's Day may look difficult and intimidating to make, but it's easier than you may think. Let me walk you through the process.

I originally shared this recipe in 2011. I've recently updated this post with additional information, including a recipe card complete with nutritional information, but the recipe itself and the photos have remained unchanged.
**Please Note - The printable recipe card with detailed instructions, complete ingredient measurements, and nutritional information for making this joconde entremet with a chocolate covered strawberry design is available at the end of this post. Or you can hit the "jump to recipe" button (found above) to be taken directly to the recipe.
The ingredient list:
For the decor paste:
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups, plus 1 ½ tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 7 large egg whites
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour
- Your choice of assorted food color gels (I used red, brown, and green).
For the joconde sponge:
- ¾ cups almond flour
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup cake flour
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
For the filling:
- fresh strawberries
- mini chocolate chips
- orange flavored liquor (optional)
- strawberry jam, heated to liquify
- 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix
- milk (for the vanilla pudding)
Kitchen tools and equipment needed:
- piping bags or large zip top bags
- mixing bowls
- gel food color
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- spatula
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- measuring cups and spoons
- clear glass trifle dish
- pastry brush
- whisk
- paring knife
- cutting board
How this chocolate covered strawberry joconde entremet recipe came to be:
Back when I first started my food blog (in early 2009) I belonged to many cooking and baking groups. Being a part of these groups was a way for me to meet new friends and venture into recipes I may not have tried otherwise.
The group in which I shared this recipe for a Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Jaconde Entremet was called "The Daring Bakers," and at the time it made me totally step out of my comfort zone. The following recipe is all about doing just that.
What I wrote about this recipe in 2011:
If you couldn't tell, it was chocolate-covered strawberry theme day at my house on the day I decided to make my Daring Bakers challenge.
I had been trying to figure out what design I was going to make with my joconde paste for the spongecake walls of my entremet for a long, long time.
Time was running out and my completed challenge was due in just a few days.
I was going to use my springform pan but decided against it because it seemed a bit too wide.
Sadly I am ill-prepared in my kitchen with smaller sizes of springform pans at the moment so the use of the heart-shaped glass bowl seemed like a perfect vessel to showcase the chocolate-covered strawberry design. So, I went with it.
This recipe is long and seems complicated (why do you think I held off so long in starting it?) but in all actuality, it was fairly simple to make and gave me a great sense of accomplishment when I'd finally completed it.
I will even tell you that it was fun to make and I learned a lot of new stuff in the process.
We had all sorts of options as to what to fill our entremets with. Be creative when you make yours 🙂
After giving it a bit of thought, I decided to fill mine with vanilla pudding (use your favorite recipe), some sliced fresh strawberries, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and some melted strawberry jelly.
Oh, I also used some Grand Marnier to brush onto the sides and layers of my sponge. In the great words of Ina Garten "How bad can that be?"
I layered and brushed as I went making sure to end up with the top layer being the vanilla pudding.
I enjoyed this challenge very much and I'm very pleased to have stepped out of my comfort zone to try something I wouldn't have ordinarily tried to make.
Now that you know how easy and fun this is to make, I think you should try it too, don't you? I'd love to hear your comments and ideas about what you'll fill your entremet with. The possibilities are endless!
Sending you love. Happy Valentines' Day!
What is joconde?
A light and flexible sponge cake made with almond flour. It is known as La Joconde in France and is named after the Mona Lisa.
What is a joconde entremet?
It is a decorative design baked into a joconde sponge cake providing a surprise element and an elegant or whimsical finishing touch.
Some step-by-step photos for making a chocolate covered strawberry joconde entremet in trifle dish:
- Pipe your chosen design with the decor paste onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until firm.
- Meanwhile make the joconde sponge and use an offset spatula to evently spread the sponge over the firmed decor paste design.
- Bake in a preheated 475-degree Faharenheit oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove the sponge from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Place another sheet of parchment over the sponge and top with an inverted baking sheet.
- With a quick motion, flip the two baking sheets over (your pattern will now be face up). Peel off the parchment paper and cool the cake completely.
- Since I used a glass trifle dish, I measured the height of the dish and cut strips of my joconde sponge to fit the sides of the trifle dish.
- With the remainder of the sponge, I cut it into smaller pieces to layer the bottom and center of my joconde entremet.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
- Start layering (in no particular order except starting with sponge and ending with a layer of pudding) with the sponge, brush with orange liquor, top with berries, prepared pudding, liquid jam, and chocolate chips, making sure to end with a layer of pudding.
- Using additional semi-sweet chips melted with 1 tablespoon of butter, I filled a piping bag with the melted chocolate and piped diagonal lines on top.
- I also dipped some whole strawberries in melted chocolate for garnish. (optional)
Additional special occasion dessert recipes:
*Orange Cream Eclairs (shown below and featured in the video)
If you’re looking for a delicious pastry that’s not too difficult to make but impressive to serve, these Orange Cream Eclairs are just the ticket. A word to the wise, however, you may want to make a double batch because they’ll be gobbled up quickly.
*Puff Pastry Apple Squares (not shown)
When it’s time for dessert, and you want to impress but not spend hours in the kitchen preparing, then these rustic Apple Puff Pastry Squares are just what the dessert doctor ordered.
*Chocolate Cherry Pastry Tower (shown below)
What would you call layers upon layers of puff pastry which encase layers and layers of chocolate, cream cheese, and cherries? Well, why not … Chocolate Cherry Pastry Tower? Works for me! LOL
*Strawberry Crostata (not shown)
Bring this Strawberry Crostata with a sweet almond glaze to the table and any occasion has been instantly upgraded to something truly special…and delicious!
*Chocolate Covered Strawberry Joconde Entrement (shown below) THIS IS THE PLACE!!
Below is the printable recipe card along with the exact ingredient measurements and nutritional information for making today's special occasion joconde entremet with a chocolate covered strawberry design.
When you make this recipe (and I hope that you will), I'd appreciate it if you'd take the time to come back and give it a star rating along with a comment on why you rated as you did. Search engines such as Google appreciate comments and ratings and, in turn, will show my recipes to more people. Please look for the pink star rating box within the printable recipe card. Thank you!!
Printable Recipe Card
CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY JOCONDE ENTREMET
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR THE DECOR PASTE:
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups plus 1 ½ tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 7 large egg whites
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour
- Your choice of assorted food color. I used red, brown, and green
FOR THE JOCONDE SPONGE:
- ¾ cups almond flour
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup cake flour
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
FOR THE FILLING:
- 1 pint fresh strawberries sliced
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup orange flavored liquor optional
- ¾ cup strawberry jam heated in the microwave until liquid
- 1 large box vanilla pudding made according to the package instructions
- whole strawberries as garnish optional
- chocolate drizzle as garnish optional
Instructions
TO MAKE THE DECOR PASTE:
- -Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- -Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
- -Fold in sifted flour.
- -Tint batter with your chosen colors of food coloring gel. (I used red, green, and brown)
- -Use piping bags to design your pattern on top of a sheet of parchment paper with assorted gel paste colors.
- -Freeze until firm (approximately 15 minutes).
TO MAKE THE JOCONDE SPONGE:
- -Preheat oven to 475-degrees Fahrenheit.
- -In a clean mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and the granulated sugar to firm, glossy peaks, Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
- -Sift almond flour, confectioner's sugar, cake flour (this can be done in the dirty egg white bowl).
- -On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light.
- -Fold in one-third of reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
- -Fold in the melted butter.
- -Remove the decor paste design from the freezer and quickly pour the joconde sponge batter over the design.
- Spread evenly (using an offset spatula) to completely cover the pattern of the décor paste.
- -Bake in a preheated 475-degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 15 minutes but watch it carefully so it does not burn.
- -Cool slightly, and then add another sheet of parchment paper to the top of your sponge and then stack another baking sheet on top.
- -With a quick motion, flip the two baking sheets over (your pattern will now be face up) and allow them to cool completely.
- -Since I used the trifle dish, I measured the height of the dish and cut strips of my joconde sponge to fit the sides of my trifle dish.
- -With the remainder of the sponge, I cut it into smaller pieces to layer the bottom and center of my entremet.
- -Cover with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge.
TO FILL AND LAYER THE JOCONDE ENTREMET:
- -Start layering (in no particular order except starting with the sponge and ending with a layer of pudding) with the sponge, brush with orange liquor, top with berries, prepared pudding, liquid jam, and chocolate chips, making sure to end with a layer of pudding.
- -Using additional semi-sweet chips melted with 1 tablespoon of butter, I filled an additional piping bag with the melted chocolate and piped some diagonal lines on the top (optional).
- I also dipped some whole strawberries into melted chocolate for garnish. (optional)
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you've enjoyed this recipe for a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Joconde Entremet as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
Kudos Kitchen by Renee – Bringing you easy, economical, and delicious dishes to feed the people you love!
Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!!
BigBearswife says
I am so glad I asked for this recipe! That just looks amazing!
Strawberry Steve says
This is SO cute! 🙂
And that is such a good tip, about how to color the joconde... gotta remember that technique!
Great job! Thank you very much for sharing this with us!
lilaloa says
WOW. This is FANTASTIC! Thanks for showing us how it is done!!
georgescookie says
omg, this is so beautiful and creative, the flutes are wonderfully painted and i love the way you created the mini strawberries for the cake.
i will definitely try this.
pps, thanks so much for the encouragement it is greatly appreciated. I actually cried.
Linda Nordlund says
All I can say is Wow. Looks beautiful especially with the glasware.
Chic Cookies says
Holy Moly! Amanda (my co-editor) sent me the link to your cake. Wow! I had to post on EdibleCrafts.CraftGossip.com. And tweet. Wow!! This is amazing.
Sue says
I love the design!!! It's so adorable! You have inspired me to make one of these, even if I totally missed the deadline! BTW, I LOVE your Daring Kitchen tile; it looks fabulous!
Steph@PlainChicken.com says
OMG - that is so impressive. I don't have the patience to make something so fancy!
Strawberry CAKE says
Love the STRAWBERRYS!!!
Debbie says
How sweet! Perfect for Valentine's!
Paula says
Should be no surprise that your artistic talents transfer so easily to food. This dessert is absolutley beautiful. What a great and original idea Renee. You totally rocked this challenge and I love that you included your tiles and glassware as part of the project.
Amanda says
GORGEOUS!!! Way to go girl, you totally nailed this challenge!!!
Knatolee says
Wow, beautiful AND delicious, and a perfect V-Day dessert!
Renata says
Love that you used a glass dish to hold your Joconde, and specially being in a heart shape. Great idea! Cute designs too! You're an artist!
The Betz Family says
I love the flutes and your dessert! Very original to do the heart shaped trifle dish. I am impressed that you were able to get such a detailed design on your spongecake to come out so well. Nice job on the challenge!
Gourmandrea says
That looks awesome!!
Jodie says
How cute! I love your inspiration!
Kudos Kitchen says
Everyone has been so kind to me in their comments. I appreciate each and everyone of you for leaving them!
Maranda says
Oh my goodness Renee! This is absolutely stunning!!! I am so proud of you! It's truly amazing! congrats lady!!!
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction says
Oh my goodness... I just LOVE this! I'm sure it must be so delicious with the strawberries and chocolate, too! Absolutely amazing 🙂
Sandie {A Bloggable Life | 365} says
Oh, Renee. I want THIS for Valentine's Day. It's gorgeous and I really appreciate your step-by-step photos. Love your hand-painted champagne flutes too! Is this why you were up in the wee hours of the night, painting in your mind? 😉
THE Tough Cookie says
You are SO creative!!! Fantastic that you made this joconde your own.
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes] says
This is truly gorgeous Renee!! Just gave you a stumble 🙂
kat says
That turned out gorgeous & chocolate & strawberry is just a perfect flavor combo. Stumbled.
Maria says
Wow, nice work! Beautiful!
Elle says
Just gorgeous, Renee! Bravo!
Barbara Bakes says
Chocolate and strawberries are the perfect combination. It looks luscious!
RJ Flamingo says
Just beautiful! I want to be as talented as you are, when I grow up! :-))
Manu Miranda says
I.LOVE.IT!!! So cute...I didn't know what a Jaconde was, but now, thanks to you, I wanna try! 😉
Mardi @eatlivetravelwrite says
It's absolutely beautiful Renée 🙂 I LOVE everything about it - the shape the flavours and the colours. Well done!