You can also make a 6" cake with 2 thick layers cut in half for a 4 layer cake along with 12 cupcakes.
I’m getting pretty far away from spring-themed recipes. But today’s posts are a bit…Springy.
I have a family member who request strawberry cake for any old day and y’all know I like to oblige. I wasn’t even planning on posting this, but it turned out so nice that I whipped out my camera and tried to make use of the few shreds of light left in the day. This cake is super moist, dense, and VERY full of fresh strawberry flavor. I did add a little food color to pink it up a bit, but everything else inside is ‘au natural’. Slightly sweetened cream is sandwiched between each layer and then piped to high heaven on top. No other frosting is required which makes this cake a breeze to assemble. Chill it before you eat it. Oh, and it makes perfect little cupcakes. Just fill the cupcake wrappers a little over half full of batter, bake, and top with a swirling of cream and a strawberry quarter.
I made a 6″ cake with this recipe(2 6″ pans, baked and cut in half for 4 layers) as well as 12 cupcakes. Or you can use a bigger pan (8″) and bake three layers for one, larger cake.
INGREDIENTS
3 C. Flour
2 C. Sugar
1½ T. Baking Powder
¾ t. Salt¾ C. Vegetable Oil
1½ C. Strawberry Puree
1 t. Vanilla
1 t. Lemon Juice
4 Eggs, beaten
Red or Pink Food Color, if desired
3 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ C. Sugar
3-5 Strawberries, stems left on, quartered
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Grease and flour 3 8" round cake pans. You may want to use 4 pans total if your cake pans are not very tall to make sure the batter does not overflow when baked.In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.Add the vegetable oil, strawberry puree, vanilla, and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.Add the eggs and food color, if using, to the batter and whisk until smooth. Once the batter is smooth, do not continue mixing so the gluten doesn't over-develop.Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans.Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are firm to the touch and cake is cooked through.Let cool for 5 minutes and remove cake from pans, scraping the edges with a knife to loosen the cake, if necessary, and cool on wire racks.Level the tops of the cooled cakes and place on layer on a dish or cake stand.Whip the heavy cream, along with the ¼ C. sugar, to very stiff peaks. You want it so thick that it is almost to the point that it is curdled. But not quite. It will hold up to the heavy cake layers and last longer if you do this.Add a spoonful of cream to the first layer of cake and spread out evenly to the edges.Add the second layer of cake to the smoothed cream.Add a spoonful of cream to the second cake layer, smoothing to the edges. Top with the third layer of cake. If using a forth layer, top with cream , spread and smooth and top with that fourth layer. Place the rest of the whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe large swirls of cream around the outer edge of the top of the cake.
Top each swirl with a strawberry quarter.
Chill & Enjoy