With summertime comes strawberries and with strawberries comes YUMMY STUFF! In this case, a strawberry cake. My Mom didn't do much with strawberries- she was allergic. So she didn't give me a recipe for strawberry cake and frosting. That said, I found this in an old magazine a few years ago.
- 10 ounces frozen whole strawberries (2 cups)
- ¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (9 ounces) cake flour
- 1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces) granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
For the cake:
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment, grease parchment, and flour.
- Transfer strawberries to bowl, cover, and microwave until strawberries are soft and have released their juice, about 5 minutes (if defrosted, skip this step).
- Place in a fine-mesh strainer set over a small saucepan.
- Firmly press fruit dry (juice should measure at least 3/4 cup); reserve strawberry solids.
- Bring juice to boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Whisk milk into juice until combined.
- Whisk strawberry milk, egg whites, and vanilla in a bowl.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined.
- Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until only pea-size pieces remain for about 1 minute.
- Add half of the milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining milk mixture, and beat until incorporated about 30 seconds.
- Give the batter the final stir by hand.
- Scrape equal amounts of batter into prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.
- Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment, and cool completely, for about 2 hours- more if its hot out. (Cooled cakes can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)
FROSTING
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ¼ cups (9 ounces) confectioners' sugar
- 12 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces and softened
- Pinch salt
- 8 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix butter and sugar on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated about 1 minute.
- Add reserved strawberry solids and salt and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days.
- Pat strawberries dry with paper towels.
- When cakes are cooled, spread 3/4 cup frosting over 1 cake round.
- Press 1 cup of strawberries in an even layer over the frosting and cover with an additional 3/4 cup of frosting.
- Top with the second cake round and spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with remaining strawberries.
(Cake can be refrigerated for 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)