Fresh strawberry cake and strawberry frosting recipe! Full of natural strawberry flavor!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, southern
Keyword cake, strawberries, strawberry
Prep Time 40 minutesminutes
Cook Time 22 minutesminutes
Servings 12people
Calories
Ingredients
STRAWBERRY CAKE
1pound fresh strawberries, stemmed
2½cupsall-purpose flour (measured correctly, see note)
1tablespoonbaking powder
½teaspoonsalt
½cupunsalted butter, room temperature
½cupbutter-flavored shortening
2cupsgranulated sugar
3large eggs, room temperature
1tablespoonpure strawberry extract
1teaspoonvanilla extract
½cupsour cream
6-9dropsred food coloring
¾cupwhole milk
STRAWBERRIES & CREAM FROSTING
1poundfresh strawberries, stemmed
½cupunsalted butter, room temperature
2ozcream cheese, room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
½teaspoonpure strawberry extract
1pinchsalt
4cups powdered sugar (sifted & measured correctly. See note.)
Instructions
LET'S MAKE THE CAKE!
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round cake pans. Set aside.
To make the strawberry reduction, place strawberries in a blender, and blend until pureed. Pour the puree into a saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes until most of the juice evaporates, and you have about 1/2 cup of strawberries. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in strawberry extract and vanilla extract. Stir in sour cream. (batter may look spotty and that is fine)
Add the food coloring. (Cake will be a VERY pale pink if not using food coloring. Start with 5-6 drops and increase after you add the puree in the next step if you want it darker)
Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, alternating with the milk until the mixture is well combined. (Be careful not to over mix or the cake will be crumbly).
Fold in strawberry reduction. Be sure to mix it in thoroughly so there are no streaks in the batter. (Add more food coloring if you want it darker. In this video, I used 8 drops of McCormick liquid food coloring. Some brands are not as concentrated so you may need more or less)
Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake for 20-22 minutes (may need longer) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
Place cakes on a cooling rack and when the pans are cool enough to touch, remove the cakes and allow them to finish cooling on the wire rack.
LET'S MAKE THE FROSTING!
To make the frosting, first follow the steps above to create the strawberry reduction, reducing it down to 1/4 cup this time. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and strawberry extract until combined. (Use a stand mixer if desired)
Mix in salt and powdered sugar a little at a time, until creamy.
Add in the strawberry puree by the tablespoon until desired firmness is reached. ( I use all 1/4 cup)
Chill the frosting and then mix until fluffy before frosting the cakes. (Frosting should be extra airy and fluffy. See note.)
Frost cake layers using an offset spatula. (This frosting is rich with bold strawberry flavor. A little goes a long way so so use thin layers of frosting between the cakes)
Slice using a cake knife and serve. (Chill the cake if you wish to firm up the frosting before slicing)
Store finished cake in the refrigerator and let come to room temperature before serving, for best results. (The strawberry flavor increases the next day so I usually make this cake the day before I want to serve it. Although it is still great the day of making it.)
Video
Notes
MEASURING FLOUR AND POWDERED SUGAR: First, fluff it with a spoon or sift. Spoon into measuring cup until overflowing. Tap the rim of the measuring cup to knock out any air bubbles. Level off the top with the back of a knife.FROSTING: Mix the frosting on high until it is super fluffy and airy. If the frosting is thick and heavy, it hasn't been mixed enough. It will not look like enough frosting to frost the cakes but it will be!