Fresh Strawberry Cake With Buttercream Frosting Food

REAL STRAWBERRY FROSTING

Steps:

• Place strawberries in a blender; puree until smooth.
• Transfer strawberry puree to a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring often, until puree is reduced by at least half, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
• Beat butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until light and fluffy.
• Beat 1 cup confectioners' sugar into butter until just blended.
• Beat 2 tablespoons strawberry puree and vanilla extract into butter mixture until just blended.
• Repeat with 1 cup confectioners' sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons strawberry puree two more times.
• Beat last 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into mixture until just blended.

FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM ICING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans that are at least 1 1/2 inches high.
• Sprinkle strawberries with sugar in a bowl and let sit for at least 20 minutes, or until juices accumulate.
• Puree strawberries in a blender until smooth and set aside.
• Combine sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup strawberry puree, oil, strawberry extract, and food coloring. Mix well. Add flour, gently folding until well mixed. Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 30 minutes.
• Make the frosting while the cakes cool. Combine confectioners' sugar, butter, heavy cream, 4 tablespoons of strawberry puree, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Whip thoroughly, adding more puree to color and taste as needed.
• Sandwich cake layers with frosting. Cover the top and sides with remaining frosting.

EASY STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Wash, clean, and hull the strawberries. Place them in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Pass it thru a sieve to remove seeds.
• Pour into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the strawberry puree has reduced to almost 1/3 of its original volume.Pro tip - Reducing the puree will concentrate the flavor with less liquid.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C / Gas Mark 3.
• Grease and line 2× 6-inch baking pans with parchment paper. You can also double this recipe to make 2 x 8-inch round cakes.Pro tip - I am baking in 2 pans, so I can torte in half to make four. But, you can also use 3 x 6-inch round pans to make 3 layers. That way you don't have to torte.
• Dry ingredients - Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt - set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated. Pro tip - Adding eggs one at a time will prevent the batter from curdling.
• Next, add the flour mixture, sour cream, and strawberry puree in three batches making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Then, add the vanilla and strawberry extract and combine well.Pro tip - Do not overmix at this stage as we do not want to activate the gluten in our flour.
• Pour the batter into the two prepared baking pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle rack or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Pro tip - It is a great idea to use cake strips around my baking pans to prevent a dome. That way you don't lose much height on your layer cakes.
• Once baked, leave in the pan for no more than 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Pro tip - Always frost cakes only when they are completely cooled. Otherwise, the frosting will melt.
• Watch my video on how to make Swiss meringue buttercream.
• Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer.Pro tip - Make sure the bowl is grease-free. Otherwise, the egg whites will not whip.
• Using a whisk, place the bowl over a double boiler and constantly whip until all the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are fairly warm (about 160 F).Pro tip - You don't need a thermometer, as long as all the sugar has completely melted your eggs are ready to use.
• Take the bowl off the heat and whip the egg whites until you have a thick meringue with stiff peaks.Pro tip - It is best to start whipping eggs at medium speed then increase speed as you go for the best meringue.
• Let the mixer continue to whip on medium-low speed until the mixer bowl feels cool to touch. Then, gradually add butter, one cube at a time, with the mixer at medium speed.Pro tip - It is VERY important that the meringue is cooled completely before you add the butter. Otherwise, you will have a soupy mess.
• Once all the butter is added, whip on medium-high for 2 minutes. Lastly, add the vanilla and strawberry extract. Combine well until everything is well combined.
• Watch this video showing how I level, torte, and fill the cakes.Pro tip - Make sure the cakes are completely cold. Otherwise, the frosting will melt. Plus, the cakes are more delicate to handle. Chilling the cakes makes them easier to work with.
• Using a bread knife or cake leveler, cut the domes off the cake layers. Then, divide each layer in half horizontally so you have four layers (2 x 2 = 4 layers).
• Brush each layer with the cooled simple syrup. Pro tip - To enhance the strawberry flavor you can add a few drops of strawberry extract or strawberry puree to simple syrup to make a strawberry syrup.
• Next, place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand. Top with a big dollop of buttercream - spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula.
• Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.Pro tip - Chilling the cake at this point will ensure the layers don't move when you frost the outside. Though, if you leave the cake uncovered in the fridge for too long it can dry out. So, 10 minutes is all you need.
• Spread the remaining buttercream around and the top of the cake.Pro tip - A straight-edge spatula for the top, an off-set spatula, and a bench scraper for the sides work better.
• Divide the remaining buttercream in two. Add pink gel food color to one half. Put both colors of buttercream in a piping bag with a star piping tip nozzle.
• Pipe swirls around and top of the cake. These swirls are exactly what you would do on a cupcake just smaller in size. Decorate as desired.
• Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY ICING

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients for the cake, except the chocolate chips, with an electric mixer until well combined.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Pour into a greased 10x15-inch baking pan or 30-48 cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers.
• Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes for a sheet cake or 18-22 minutes for cupcake, or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool completely.
• Beat the butter for the frosting with electric mixer.
• Add powdered sugar and beat.
• Add strawberries and vanilla.
• If needed to make the icing spreadable, add a bit of milk a teaspoon at a time.
• Spread icing on cake or pipe icing onto cupcakes.
• Store in the refrigerator.

FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH LEMON SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Slice the strawberries. You'll need 2 ½ cups roughly chopped for the sauce and the remaining to be diced for the cake.
• In a medium-sized saucepan, combine 2 ¼ cups sliced strawberries, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. I suggest lining the bottom with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and remaining sugar (2 ¼ cups). Beat on medium speed using the paddle attachment until the butter it is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed. This should take about 5 minutes.
• Add the egg whites, one at a time, ensuring that each one is well mixed before adding the next. Add the vanilla extract together with the last egg white.
• Use a food processor to grind the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder.
• In a medium-sized bowl, combine the powdered strawberries with the flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently whisk the ingredients together to combine.
• Next, slowly alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until all of the ingredients are just combined.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 ½ cups of strawberries with the remaining lemon juice (½ tablespoon). Stir to combine and then stir the strawberries into cake batter. At this time, you should also add the cooked strawberries as well. Turn the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure all of the ingredients are well combined.
• Bake at 350°F for 28-35 minutes. Test your cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, you cake is done. After 15-20 minutes, run a knife around the outside edge of the cake and gently remove from the pan. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Combine the sugar and egg whites in your stainless steel mixer bowl (or any heat proof bowl). Attached your candy thermometer to the side of the bowl.
• Set your bowl over top of a pot with water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. You do not want the water to boil and touch the bottom of your mixing bowl. Heat the water on medium to medium-low heat.
• Combine the sugar and egg whites and stir (using your greaseproof spatula) constantly until the mixture reaches 140° F. This is the most important part; you do not want to egg whites to cook. I have read that you can have it be anywhere between 120° F - 160° F. When it reaches 140° F, the sugar should be dissolved in the egg whites. You can test this by placing a drop on your fingertips and rubbing them together. The mixture should be completely smooth.
• Place the mixing bowl on your stand mixer. Using the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg whites. Start on low and increase the speed to medium after 2 minutes.
• Beat for another 3 minutes on medium. At this point, your frosting should have turned white as the egg whites are whipped and the body of the meringue starts to form.
• After 5 minutes, increase the speed to high. You will notice that as you increase the speed, the body of your meringue will also increase. It will start to look glossy as the peaks begin to form. Beat for another 5 minutes.
• After you have beat the meringue for a total of about 10 minutes, the bottom of your mixing bowl should be cooled completely. Your SMB should look kind of like whipped cream. Scrape down all sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Turn your mixer down to medium-low. Slowly add your butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time, ensuring it is mixed well after each addition. Once you have added all your butter. Mix for another minute and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and continue beating on medium to allow all the air bubbles to escape. In about 2-3 minutes the frosting is smooth. Lastly, fold in the lemon zest.

THE ULTIMATE FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Make the 1 x batch strawberry compote according the recipe instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup (118 g) prepared compote for the cake batter, another 1/2 cup (118 g)for the frosting, and the remaining approximate heaping 1 Tbsp for layering the cake. If you make the compote in advance, keep refrigerated until using.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 1/4 sheet pan with parchment paper, then spray the bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the pan with cooking spray.
• Heat the Salted Butter in the microwave in a microwave safe dish until just melted.
• Make strawberry puree by heating the 3 oz (3/4 cup) Frozen Strawberries until thawed in the microwave. Then puree the thawed strawberries in the food processor until it's a smooth puree. It should make about 1/4 cup puree.
• Combine the Strawberry Puree with the remaining Wet Ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
• Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift the Dry Ingredients into a separate large bowl. Whisk until well blended.
• Pour Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Pour Melted Salted Butter over batter and whisk in until incorporated. Add 1/2 cup Prepared Strawberry Compote and whisk until batter looks uniform and shiny.
• Pour batter into the prepared sheet pan and smooth out batter until even (an offset icing spatula works well for this). The batter will be about 1/4 inch from the top of a 1" tall sheet pan. (You can also bake in round pans or sheet-cake pans--see Note #3).
• Allow pan to set for 5-10 minutes before putting it in the oven. This will give time for the instant clearjel (or instant pudding mix) to thicken the cake batter before it bakes, allowing for a better rise.
• Bake in the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of a preheated 325-degree oven for 16 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Check the cake at this point. See if it is done by lightly touching the top of the cake--try to avoid moving the cake pan or baking rack, which could cause an underdone cake to sink. If jiggly at all to your touch, bake for another 1-5 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick or small paring knife comes out clean when quickly stuck in the cake. A few moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet.
• Allow cake to cool completely. To make a sheet cake, follow the Baker's Shortcut (Note #5), or choose your round cake size using the Cut and Stack method. Leave the cake in the sheet pan, and using a slight sawing motion, cut the cooled cake into your desired cake size with cake rings (You can use a knife and the cake rings as a guide for any halve pieces that you cut.) Brush lightly with simple syrup (optional, Note #4).
• Wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap and freeze cake in the pan for 2 hours or overnight. (You can even bake the cake up to a week ahead of time and freeze). The cake will be much easier to layer if it is cold or frozen. To wrap the cake, place another sheet of parchment on top of the cake (this will prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the cake), and wrap the whole pan with plastic wrap. (I pull the plastic wrap out and place the pan on top of it. Then I wrap two ways horizontally and one way vertically so that there are two layers of wrap on all sides of the pan including the bottom).
• If using instant clearjel, whisk it thoroughly with the powdered sugar and set aside.
• Using a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer and a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until broken up and softened. Add the room temperature salted butter and continue to beat until there are no lumps, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Once the cream cheese/butter mixture is very smooth and creamy without lumps, slowly sprinkle in the powdered sugar mixture while the mixer is on low. The mixture will be thick, but continue to slowly blend on low until it is fully incorporated.
• Add the pure vanilla, strawberry extract, and 1/2 reserved strawberry compote. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat the buttercream on high for two-three minutes. This important step will add air into the buttercream and make it light and fluffy. The instant clearjel will cause the buttercream to thicken over the next 10 minutes. If you didn't use instant clearjel, you may wish to add up to an additional 1 cup(s) of powdered sugar to reach a thicker frosting. The frosting can be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated, but remove it from the fridge 1-2 hours before decorating your cake so it can be easily spread.
• The easiest way to layer the cake is to layer the cake from frozen the day before you plan to serve it. If serving the cake the same day you are layering it, use refrigerated cake layers instead of frozen.
• Use your two half-circles of cake to make the bottom cake layer (fill in with scraps if needed to make a level surface). Before topping with buttercream, spread each cake layer with a thin layer of your remaining strawberry compote. This just adds a little moisture and flavor boost. Fill your cake layers with around 1/4 inch strawberry buttercream. An offset icing spatula (I use the small and medium size on all my cakes) helps with this. I recommend frosting a thin crumb coat of buttercream on the outside of the cake which will catch all the crumby edges, then allow it to set up in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. Read more in my article: How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro: 5 Easy Steps. Remaining cake scraps can be used for cake truffles, cake parfaits or trifles.
• Spread a final layer of buttercream over your set-up crumbed cake, and decorate as desired. I used a small offset icing spatula to make a horizontal texture, then topped the cake with strawberry buttercream rosettes using a disposable piping bag and 1M star tip. Decorate the top of your cake with Fresh Strawberries.
• You can let the cake set up in the fridge, but remove it from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so it can come back to room temperature (avoid warm temperatures). This cake has the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!

FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM RECIPE

Steps:

• I recommend making this reduction the day before you're ready to make your cake.
• Place fresh or thawed, frozen strawberries into a medium saucepan. Optional: blend strawberries with an emersion blender if you prefer a smoother texture of strawberry reduction.
• Heat on medium-high and add in sugar (if desired), lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
• Once bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low and slowly reduce until berries begin to break up and the mixture has reduced by about half. This will take about 20 minutes. If your mixture has reduced by half and is still watery, continue to cook until all of the liquid is out.
• Occasionally stir the mixture to prevent burning. You should end up with about 2 cups of thick strawberry reduction that looks like tomato sauce. Transfer to another container and let cool before use.
• You will use some of the reduction for the cake batter, some for the frosting and the rest for filling between the cake layers for extra moisture. Leftover reduction can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or frozen for 6 months.
• NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the room temperature ingredients listed above are room temperature and not cold or hot.
• Make sure to take your strawberry reduction out of the refrigerator 1 hour before making your cake so that it comes to room temperature.
• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350ºF/176ºC.
• Grease three 8" cake pans with cake goop or preferred pan release
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, strawberry reduction, strawberry emulsion, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pink food coloring.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add room temperature butter to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.
• Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the egg whites one at a time, beating 15 seconds in between. Your mixture should look cohesive at this point. If it looks curdled and broken, your butter or egg whites were too cold.
• Mix on low speed and add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture, mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process 2 more times. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If it looks like ice cream, you did it right!
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
• Bake cakes at 350ºF/176ºC until they feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 30-35 minutes.
• Place pans on top of a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then flip your cakes onto the racks and cool completely.
• Once cooled, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze before assembling your cake.
• Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low and then whip on high for 5 minutes
• Place pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the whisk attachment and combine ingredients on low, then whip on high for 5 minutes.
• Add in your softened butter in chunks and whip on high for 8-10 minutes until it's very white, light and shiny. It may look curdled and yellow at first, this is normal. Keep whipping.
• Add in strawberry reduction, vanilla extract and salt and continue whipping until incorporated.
• Optional: Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes to make the buttercream very smooth and remove air bubbles.
• Place your first layer of strawberry cake onto a cake plate or cake board. Trim off the dome if needed with a sharp knife so the top of the cake is flat.
• Add a very thin layer or your cooled reduction over the cut surface. This helps soak into the cake and adds moisture and strawberry flavor.
• Add a layer of strawberry buttercream, I shoot for about 1/4". Smooth it with your offset spatula until it's flat.
• Frost the outside of your cake with the leftover buttercream and decorate with some fresh. strawberries if desired.