Friday, March 3, 2017

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

Missy Tippens

Flash back to Super Bowl Sunday. Our beloved Atlanta Falcons were about to play the ultimate showdown. Our hopes were high. Plus, we had a birthday to celebrate! My son's.

Our whole family was coming out to watch the game, so I decided to make one of my son's favorites. Strawberry cake.

But I could NOT find my regular recipe! It had not turned up after our move this past summer. I found all my cookbooks but not the notebook with hand-written recipes from friends and family. (I have since located it in a box in the attic).

So I pulled out Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe and found a recipe for strawberry cupcakes. 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter two round cake pans and then sprinkle with flour. Tap the pan and discard all extra flour that doesn't stick.

Here's my take on the recipe (based on ingredients I had on hand).

2 cups pureed strawberries, divided (I had frozen whole berries and pureed them up in the Ninja, then let them thaw).
2-1/2 cups cake flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 sticks softened (room temp) butter
4 eggs whites
1/3 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any so dropped in a few drops of lemon juice)
1 tsp vanilla extract (buy the good stuff, not flavoring)


Set aside 1/4 cup strawberries for the icing.

Combine cake flour, sugar and baking powder in the stand mixer on low using the whisk. Add the softened butter and 3/4 cup strawberries. Mix on low until moistened. Then increase speed up to medium and let it mix until is fluffy--about 3-5 minutes.



In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and vanilla. Gradually add this into the dry ingredients. Make sure to scrape the sides a couple of time. And don't over-mix it.


Put your batter into the prepared buttered and floured pans.


Bake until toothpick comes out clean (about 20 minutes, if I remember correctly.) Let cool in the pan about 15 minutes. Then scrape edges with a knife and tap to release from pans. Let cool completely.

Once the cakes are cool, make the buttercream frosting.


Butter Cream Frosting:
3 sticks butter, softened (it calls for unsalted but I usually don't have that so use regular salted butter)
4-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cups reserved pureed strawberries
1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter in the stand mixer using the whisk attachment. Beat for 1-2 minutes. Add sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing in between. Add the strawberries and vanilla. Mix. Scrape sides. Then mix again, beating 3-5 minutes until the icing is fluffy. Use immediately.




My daughter-in-law wanted to ice the cake. It turned out beautiful!



And the insides were yummy! I can't believe my "baby" is now 27. I also can't believe the Falcons blew that lead! We're still a bit in shock over it. Of course, there's always next year. As longtime Falcons fans, we've had to learn to keep that attitude. :)


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10 comments:

  1. Missy, this looks marvelous! Did the cake taste like strawberries??? I'm wondering if adding strawberry pie filling to the center between the layers would be a nice touch... This looks marvelous, and I've never done strawberry cake. I must try this!!!

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    1. Ruthy, this one didn't have near the strawberry flavor that my regular recipe does. It only had a hint. But it was really good anyway! You could definitely add something to give it more flavor--maybe more strawberries?? But I'm not a fan of strawberry pie filling. It always tastes fake to me. You know, it just hit me that a thin layer of strawberry jam (maybe thinned out a little) might be good between the layers.

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  2. The only strawberry cake I've had (that I remember!) was a box mix. No real strawberries...just flavoring. But real strawberries sound dreamy!

    And Happy Belated Birthday to your son!

    So sorry about that Super Bowl loss. I couldn't believe the way that game ended.

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    1. Thanks, Jan. I don't think we'll be over the loss for a while. :)

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  3. Oh yummy -- I've never had strawberry cake. Strawberry shortcake, yes, but strawberry flavoured cake, no. This looks yummy. And I like that idea of strawberry jam between the layers. That's very British/Irish. Like a sponge cake with jam.

    I've never baked with real vanilla and I heart recently on a baking show that substituting vanilla flavour is a waste of time. LOL I guess I should part with the extra cash and see what all the fuss is about.

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    Replies
    1. Kav, the vanilla is truly much better. You'll never use flavoring again.

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  4. Replies
    1. Mary Jane, it's one of my favorites, too! I guess red velvet is my very favorite. And carrot cake is near the top as well. Plus pound cakes. :)

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  5. Missy, that looks delicious. One of the children in my class brought strawberry cupcakes to school for his birthday. I about died of pleasure from the scent when I opened the box. Mmmmmmmm.

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    Replies
    1. Mary Cate, this recipe was originally for cupcakes. :) I love cakes or cupcakes with fresh strawberries mixed in!

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