I went to a painting and drinking party at my friend’s church the other night. Below is my masterpiece.
I know what you’re thinking, “My goodness, she’s talented!”. Couple of things to notice before we get on with the baking. First of all, that sick looking seaweed in the bottom right corner is an olive branch. Yeah… poor thing. Secondly, the birds at the top are flying upside down. They’re supposed to look like M’s not W’s. Finally, that stick figure lady at the bottom is my self portrait. I call this piece “Giving Up”. Let’s make strawberry cake!
Strawberry cake is delicious, yes, but it also looks spectacular. The cake itself is a basic yellow cake with strawberry puree mixed in. The icing is a light cream cheese frosting with a little strawberry puree mixed in as well. The best part are the sliced strawberries on top. It screams Springtime and joy, but most importantly it’s easy to make beautiful without exerting much effort. I got this recipe from the U.K.’s awesome baking magazine Baking Heaven who got their recipe from Leiths’ How To Cook Cakes.
Okay, let’s start with the puree. Gently mix chopped strawberries and sugar together. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, make a kick-ass cup of coffee, and then wake the house up with the sounds of your food processor pulverizing the strawberry mixture. Your family will love you. Set the puree aside.
To make the cake, cream butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Finally, stir in some of the strawberry puree.
Fold in sifted flour, salt, and baking powder.
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into the strawberry batter.
Bake the cakes in two 9-inch round cake pans. Once the cakes have cooled, and have been leveled, and frosted with a batch of strawberry cream cheese frosting (i’m moving quickly to the good part), adorn the top with thinly sliced strawberries. Start around the perimeter.
Over lap with more sliced berries.
Work your way inward and before you know it a glorious sun made of strawberries will be shining up at you.
- 1 lb. (450 g) Strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 3 tsp. Granulated Sugar
- 14 TBS (1 and ½ sticks plus 2 TBS or 200 g) Salted Butter, softened
- 8 oz. (225 g) Cream Cheese, cold
- 2 cups (250 g) Powdered Sugar
- 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
- 4 Large Eggs, separated
- 13 TBS (1 and ½ sticks plus 1 TBS or 180 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 and ¾ cups (350 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 2 to 4 TBS Milk
- 2 and ¼ cups (285 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 4 tsp. Baking Powder
- A pinch of Salt
- 14 oz. (400 g) Strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
- 3 whole Strawberries
- In a medium-sized bowl, gently mix together the chopped strawberries and sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight. In a food processor, pulse the sugared strawberries and the juice until it becomes a somewhat smooth puree. Set aside. This puree will be divided and used for both the icing and the cake.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the cold cream cheese and beat until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, on the lowest speed. Finally, stir in the lemon juice and ¼ cup of the strawberry puree. Place icing in the refrigerator for 1 hour to firm up.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line with parchment paper two 9-inch round cake pans. Grease the parchment as well.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3 to 7 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the egg yolks one at a time until combined. Mix in the vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of milk, and ¾ cup of the strawberry puree.
- Sift the dry mixture onto the creamed mixture and gently fold in until fully combined. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of milk if the mixture seems too thick.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. With a gentle hand, fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans for 10 minutes, and then carefully remove the cakes onto wire racks. Set aside to cool completely.
- Place a cake layer onto a cake plate. Spread a quarter of the icing on top and evenly smooth it out. Place the second layer on top of the smoothed icing. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining icing. Decorate the top with the sliced strawberries. Place a ring of sliced strawberries around the perimeter. Work inward adding rings of strawberry slices. In the middle, place 3 whole strawberries to complete the look. Enjoy!
- Food processor
- Rubber spatula
- Standing mixer with paddle attachment
- Whisk
- Two 9-inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
- Off-set spatula
- Hand-held mixer
