Strawberry Cake

This homemade strawberry cake has layers of tender, bright pink cake and creamy strawberry frosting. Both the cake batter and the buttercream are infused with strawberry puree - making this cake absolutely beautiful and bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time30

Cooling2

Total Time4

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Layer Cake

Servings: slices

Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

Two 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans (with high sides)*

Ingredients

Strawberry Puree - Makes Enough for the Cake and Frosting

2 lbs strawberries* (900 grams)

Strawberry Cake

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (334 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (30 ml) or canola
3/4 cup whole milk (180 ml)
1/2 - 2/3 cup reduced strawberry puree (120 ml - mine weighed a little over 100 grams) room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 drops red food coloring optional
3/4 cup unsalted butter (168 grams) softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
5 large egg whites discard the yolks

Strawberry Frosting

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (340 grams) softened - but still slightly firm to the touch
5-6 cups powdered sugar (550 - 660 grams)
4-5 tablespoons reduced strawberry puree (60-75 ml) room temperature or cold, but not warm!
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few drops red food coloring optional
1-2 tablespoons whipping cream (15-30 ml) as needed

Instructions

Reduced Strawberry Puree

Core the berries.
Pulse in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Optionally, to remove the seeds pour the puree through a metal sifter, pushing it through with the back of a spoon. Do this a little at a time. This step is optional.
Add the puree to a large saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil while stirring. The mixture will boil gently as it thickens. This will go slowly at first and then start to go more quickly.
Once the mixture is reduced to about 1/2 to 1/3 of its original volume (about 1 cup of liquid in total), remove 1/2 cup of reduced puree. This is for the cake batter. Keep stirring the remaining puree constantly until it is thick like jam and a dark red color. It should be about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Remove from the heat. The very thick reduced puree is for the frosting.
Cool fully. Once cooled, both reduced purees can be stored in the fridge overnight.

Strawberry Cake

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees. Line the bottom of two 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans with 2 inch (5 cm) sides with rounds of parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides. If your 8-inch cake tins are sandwich tins with 1 to 1 1/2 inch sides, use 9-inch round cake tins.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Give the bowl a whisk. Set aside.
In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the oil, milk, 1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree, vanilla and optional red food coloring. If using gel food coloring, I recommend only using 1-2 drops.
In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Beat in the egg whites into the butter mixture about 1/2 at a time.
With the mixer on low speed, beat about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Then mix in about 1/2 of the milk and strawberry mixture. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat the process until all the flour mixture and milk mixture are incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and smooth the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes for 8-inch round pans and 25-30 minutes for 9-inch round pans, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few cake crumbs but no gooey cake batter.
Cool the cakes completely in the pan, then gently inserted onto a wire rack.

Strawberry Frosting

In a very large bowl, beat the butter until smooth and fluffy.
Starting with the mixer on low speed, mix in 2 cups powdered sugar along with the salt and vanilla.
Mix 2 tablespoons of reduced strawberry puree (it should be room temperature or cold from the fridge).
Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of reduced strawberry puree until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached. You can beat in a few drops of red food coloring if you'd like a brighter pink color.
Optionally, beat in 1 - 2 tablespoons of whipping cream if you feel your frosting is a little thick.

Assembling the Cake

Once the cake layers are completely cooled, use a serrated knife or cake leveller to gently saw off the domed top of each cake layer.
Place one layer top side down on the plate or cake stand that you plan to serve it on.
Frost the top of the layer with about 3/4 cup of frosting.
Place the second cake layer on top, top side down.
Frost the sides of the cake with a thin layer of frosting (a crumb coat), and let harden in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Frost the sides with about 1/3 of the frosting and the top with about another 1/2 of the frosting, making swirls as you go.

Notes

Cake Pan Sizes: Cake can be made in two 9-inch round cake pans. The bake time will be around 25-30 minutes. The recipe can also be made in a 9x13 inch pan. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of the pan. Only fill the pan about 2/3 to 3/4 full - you may have some leftover batter. The bake time will be around 40-45 minutes. If using a 9x13 inch pan, divide the frosting recipe in half. Therefore, you'll only need 1 1/2 lbs of strawberries to make the reduced puree.
Strawberries: If you'd like to save a bit of time and money, you can use 1 lb of strawberries to make the strawberry puree. Use the reduced puree in the cake batter. Then use 4-5 tablespoons of strawberry preserves in the frosting, instead of reduced strawberry puree.
Room Temperature Ingredients: The butter, milk and eggs should be room temperature before making the cake batter. Separate the eggs while they're still cold (it's easier this way). Then let them warm on the counter to room temperature before adding to the cake batter.
Reduced Strawberry Puree: The reduced strawberry puree should be room temperature before adding it to the cake batter. If you've made it in advance and stored in the fridge, take it out of the fridge about 60 minutes before making the cake batter. For the frosting, the reduced strawberry puree must be room temperature or cold - it cannot be even slightly warm or the frosting will separate.
Make Ahead Tips:
1. The reduced strawberry puree can be made up to 3 days in advance. Cool fully, then store in the fridge in an airtight container. Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature before making the cake batter.
2. Cake layers can be made 1 day before serving. Cool fully, then wrap each layer individually and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
3. Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly (individually), placed in a freezer container and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge.
4. Frost the cake the day you plan to serve it.
Storage: Store frosted cake covered at room temperature for up to 8 hours if your kitchen is not warm. Store leftovers covered in the fridge. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving to let the cake come to room temperature.

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