Fresh Strawberry Cake

One of the best things about spring and summer is fresh strawberries. I made this delicious cake for a dessert auction, and although its appearance was what caught peoples' attention- the taste was just as impressive!


I love that it is made with real strawberries- no artificial flavors or coloring- and is still very pink and strawberry-ish (yep, that's now a word). The cake is moist and firm enough to handle layers or fondant. 


I spread remaining strawberry puree and cream cheese frosting between the layers, and used cream cheese frosting as a crumb layer. I then used a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream for the roses. Stick around for the frosting recipes and an easy as 1-2-3 tutorial on those gorgeous roses! 

What You'll Need:

• For the strawberry puree:
• 24 oz very ripe strawberries, hulled 
• 1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
• For the cake:
• 1/4-1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature (4 whole eggs can be substituted)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temp

What To Do: 

1. Hull, slice and toss the strawberries with a teaspoon or two of sugar and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, until nice and juicy.
2. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.
3. Reserve 3/4 cup puree for the cake. 
4. Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting, if desired. It's also fabulous spooned over ice cream... and eaten straight with a spoon.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8- or 9-inch pans: spray inside with baking spray with flour (or use some sort of grease/flour combination).
6. In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
7. Add wet ingredients and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds.
8. Note: The batter will not get any pinker in the oven so if you're disappointed in the color from your berries, maybe consider adding a drop or two of pink or red food coloring.
9. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.
10. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

Yields: ~12-16 servings

From Confections of a Foodie Bride,

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Classic White Cake and Good Things Catered