My youngest son asked for a strawberry cake for his birthday and this cake is what came of that. He also requested dinosaurs baked inside it but I know my limits.
roasted strawberries and strawberry syrup
The only strawberries I could find at the time were a bit under ripe so I decided to roasted them to deepen the flavor. I simply cut the tops off and cut them in half, spread them on a pan with parchment paper and roasted in the oven at 350F for about 30 minutes. Let the berries cool a bit and then blend into a puree and set aside to use in the cake.
You can use this method for any berries. I used frozen berries for my berry cake below. I did not roast them but just thawed and pureed them.
strawberry syrup
I saved the tops of the strawberries to make a strawberry simple syrup. To make the syrup combine equal parts of sugar and water and add the strawberry tops. Cook and stir until the sugar is dissolved and then let simmer without stirring until the mixture is a thick syrup like consistency. Strain the strawberry tops and discard. Let the syrup cool while you make the rest.
You will see below I also did a berry cake version and made a blueberry syrup to drizzle over it. You can make basically any syrup using the ratio above.
cake batter ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks (save whites for another use like magic frosting)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup whipping cream or half n half
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and cut in half (see roasted strawberries above)
cake batter method
This cake uses the standard cake mixing method:
cream butter and sugar
add eggs one at a time (or a little at a time) and mix until thoroughly incorporated
add flour and liquid in an alternate pattern beginning and ending with the flour. finish mixing by hand with a spatula.
So for this cake I used the strawberry puree, which came out to about 3/4 cup and added 1/4 cup of whipping cream and a little lemon juice as my liquid portion. I added cornstarch to the flour mixture to give it a lighter texture.
After the cake batter is mixed divide into your prepared pans (butter or oil and flour) and bake at 350F starting at 30 minutes or until cake bounces back in the middle when touched with your finger. If an indent stays, leave in for another 5 minutes and check again.
Let the baked cakes cool completely before removing from the pans. Run butter knife or offset spatula around the edges of pan and then invert onto a cutting board or counter.
If I am frosting immediately, I will put the cakes in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. So usually while I am making the frosting(s). Then I wipe the crumbs off the edges and start assembling and frosting. If I am making these ahead, I will wrap tightly and store in the freezer until I am ready to frost and decorate.
berry cake
For the berry cake variation I used berry puree made from thawed frozen berries. The decoration is a magic frosting I use to make some cute piping details as well as large and small white sprinkles, and obviously fresh berries. I made a blueberry syrup for this one that I drizzled on top to drip over the edges.
roasted strawberry cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks (save whites)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup whipping cream or half n half
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and cut in half
Instructions
ROASTED STRAWBERRIES
- arrange strawberries on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in oven at 350F for about 30 minutes or until brown around edges, let cool a bit and then use a spatula to scrape off pan into a blender or food processor and blend to a puree. you should get about 3/4 cup of puree
CAKE BATTER
MISE EN PLACE:
- preheat oven to 350F. Butter (or oil) and flour 3 – 6 inch round / 2 inch deep cake pansadd the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixerwhisk the eggs and vanilla together in a measuring cup or containermix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, soda and salt together in a bowlstir the berry puree, lemon juice and cream together in a measuring cup or container
METHOD
- using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy, scraping down the bowl a couple times to make sure it is all mixed
- with the mixer on low, add the eggs, then scrape down and mix on med to med high until mixture is homogeneous
- on the lowest setting mix in half of the flour mixture, then pour in the berry mix and stir, scrape down and add the rest of the flour mixing just until incorporated
- pull bowl off mixer and mix with spatula by hand making sure nothing is stuck to bottom of bowl, then pour into pans trying to make as even as possible
- place in preheated oven and bake starting at 30 minutes until cakes are done in center and bounce back when pressed with your finger
- place on a cooling rack and let cool completely before removing from pans
- to remove, run a butter knife around the edge of pan and then turn out onto a cutting board or other surface
- at this point you can wrap the cakes individually and freeze for later, if you are using right away put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until frosting is ready
- before frosting, use your hand to wipe off extra crumbs around the edges
- frost and decorated as desired and enjoy!
Here is the frosting I use for the filling and general all around cake frosting. It tastes amazing and has a great texture.
This frosting is great for piping and decorations. You can use the egg whites from the cake batter recipe to make it.
