Description
A delightful homemade Strawberry Cake featuring a moist strawberry-infused cake layered with a luscious strawberry jam filling and topped with a smooth whipped cream cheese frosting. Perfect for celebrations and spring gatherings with fresh strawberry flavor throughout.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 ¼ lbs (570 g) strawberries, remove stems and quarter
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ½ cup (118 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil
- 4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (330 g) cake flour¹
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large egg whites², room temperature preferred
- Food coloring optional (two chocolate chip-sized drops of Americolor gel “electric pink” food coloring)
Filling
- ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Remaining strawberry pulp from cake preparation
Frosting
- 2 cups (475 ml) cold heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper; set aside.
- Prepare Strawberry Juice: Place the quartered strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a measuring cup until you have 1 to 1 ¼ cups of juice. Save the leftover pulp for the jam filling.
- Reduce Strawberry Juice: Pour the strawberry juice into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to ⅓ cup, checking by measuring and cooking longer if needed (about 10 minutes). Add ⅔ cup whole milk and whisk together. Add food coloring if desired, then set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the oil, softened butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine Batter: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and strawberry milk mixture alternately to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined after each addition.
- Beat Egg Whites: In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Fold Egg Whites: Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter using a spatula, ensuring thorough but careful incorporation without over-mixing.
- Bake Cake Layers: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool Cakes: Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Loosen edges with a knife and invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make Jam Filling: Combine the reserved strawberry pulp, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, bring to a boil whisking constantly and continue boiling until thickened (about 5-10 minutes). Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and refrigerate until fully cooled.
- Prepare Frosting: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth and creamy. In a separate chilled bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar with cold heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream gently into the cream cheese mixture until combined.
- Assemble Cake: Place one cake layer on a serving tray. Use a piping bag with a round tip to pipe a dam around the edge. Fill the center with the prepared jam filling. Top with the second cake layer.
- Frost Cake: Cover the entire cake with the whipped cream cheese frosting evenly.
- Chill and Serve: Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. The cake will keep in an airtight container under refrigeration for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Notes
- ¹ Cake flour may be substituted with 2 ⅔ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour.
- ² Use leftover egg yolks in recipes such as Pound Cake, Chocolate Pie, or Creme Brulee to avoid waste.
- To create decorative red swirls in frosting, paint stripes of icing inside your piping bag before filling, as demonstrated in the Pinata Cupcake recipe.
- Ensure egg whites are at room temperature for better volume when beating.
- Carefully fold egg whites to keep the batter light and airy for a fluffy cake texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 360 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
