Strawberry Cake With Basil Whipped Cream Food

STRAWBERRY BASIL CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350° F and spray 3- 9" round baking pans with baking spray.
• Using a small blender or food processor, blend the strawberries and basil until creamy and set aside
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar. Cream on low-medium speed until light and fluffy, then scrape down the sides and add in the eggs one at a time with the mixer on low.
• In another bowl or a large piece of parchment paper combine the remaining dry ingredients- flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Add the milk and the vanilla to the strawberry basil mixture.
• With the mixer on low, and add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/2 of the wet ingredients, continue until theres nothing left, making sure to end with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium for two minutes.
• Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry.
• In a small pot combine the 1/2 cup of chopped strawberries, sugar and water. Bring the mixture to a boil for 2 minutes. Then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes or until syrupy. Strain, but do not press down on the strawberries otherwise you might push some pieces through the mesh.
• Crush the freeze dried strawberries in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin or pulverize them in a spices grinder.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add softened butter, crushed freeze dried strawberries, and confectioners sugar. Cream on low building up to high when the butter has incorporated most of the sugar so it doesn't blow up in your face.
• Mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Next add in the vanilla and cream or milk and continue to mix for another minute.The buttercream should have stiff peaks.
• Cut off the tops of your cake layers to even out. Place the bottom layer down and brush simple syrup all over the cake. Fill with buttercream. Continue until the top layer and then frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY BASIL COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• For the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, almonds and salt. Add the butter and stir to combine until the mixture is evenly moistened and crumbs form. Set aside.
• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, salt and eggs. Beat on medium to combine. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the baking powder and baking soda. Mix again until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the milk and mix again until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and the lemon zest and fold with a rubber spatula, being careful not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle evenly with the strawberries and basil.
• Top with the crumb topping and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.
• Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes. Place saucepan over very low heat, and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool.
• Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form. Continue to beat, and gradually add gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.
• Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.

STRAWBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Combine the eggs and 1 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl and beat on high speed with a handheld mixer until thick, pale and doubled in size, about 4 minutes. Add the yogurt, melted butter and vanilla; beat for another minute. Add the flour, baking powder and salt; mix until just combined, 30 seconds. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly to the edges. Sprinkle the sliced berries on top. Pour the remaining batter over the berries; spread evenly once again. Top decoratively with the strawberry halves and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with honey whipped cream.

STRAWBERRY AND BASIL-CORNMEAL SHORTCAKES WITH VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Make the Strawberry Filling:
• Place about one-third of the strawberries in a medium nonreactive (glass or ceramic) bowl and crush them with a fork or potato masher. Add the remaining strawberries to the bowl and tear them up with your fingers into bite-size pieces, making sure any juice falls into the bowl. Sprinkle the sugar, basil, and vinegar over the strawberries and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours before using.
• Make the Whipped Cream:
• Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, if using, and scrape the seeds into the heavy cream in the measuring cup. (Or add the vanilla extract.) Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the empty vanilla bean, cover with plastic wrap, and let steep in the refrigerator while you make the shortcakes.
• Make the Basil-Cornmeal Shortcakes:
• Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Combine the flour, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and basil in a large bowl. Cut the butter into ½-inch chunks, sprinkle over the flour, and toss to coat. Using your fingers, flatten the cubes of butter and then rub and squeeze the butter and flour together until the butter is broken into small pieces, about the size of peas.
• Set aside the egg white in a small bowl. Combine the egg yolk and the yogurt in a small bowl and beat together until the yolk is incorporated into the yogurt. Scrape the yogurt into the dry ingredients and toss first with a fork, then your hands, until a dough forms. It might seem dry at first, but keep tossing together and a dough will form. Divide the dough into 4 balls and place on the lined baking sheet, pressing down slightly to form disks. Add the water to the egg white and beat until frothy. Brush the top of each shortcake with a light coating of the egg white wash and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until the biscuits are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 14 to 18 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then carefully move to a wire rack.
• While the shortcakes are cooling, finish the whipped cream. Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and transfer the cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until soft peaks form.
• Assemble the Shortcakes:
• Use a serrated knife to split the shortcakes in half. Spoon the whipped cream onto the bottom of each shortcake, add some strawberries, sprinkle with a little basil, add another dollop of whipped cream, and replace the top of each shortcake. Serve immediately.
• Tearing Strawberries:
• It sounds odd, but tearing the strawberries by hand in this recipe actually serves a purpose. If you slice the strawberries, the fruit tends to slip and slide off the whipped cream. However, if you tear the fruit with your fingers, the jagged edges of the fruit have nooks and crannies that help capture the whipped cream. It also helps bruise the fruit so that a little more juice is released for the shortcake. So get your hands dirty and start tearing away!
• VARIATION: Blueberry and Coriander Shortcakes With Lemon-Scented Whipped Cream
• Make the blueberry filling by combining 4 cups (680 g) fresh blueberries (don't use frozen), 1⁄2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, the zest of 1 lemon, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the juices start to boil and a few of the berries start to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
• For the shortcakes, first toast 4 teaspoons coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Remove and let cool, then crush with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Increase the all-purpose flour to 1 1⁄2 cups (210 g) and omit the cornmeal, and substitute 2 teaspoons of the crushed toasted coriander for the basil. Sprinkle 1⁄4 teaspoon crushed coriander over each shortcake with the sugar before baking. Make the whipped cream as directed, then fold in 1 tablespoon lemon zest or 2 teaspoons lemon extract. Sprinkle the remaining coriander over the blueberries when assembling in place of the basil.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE:.
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan (pan must be at least 2" high!) or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons sugar in mixing bowl.
• Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla; whisk until smooth.
• In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds.
• Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten; add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment.
• Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.
• FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING:
• Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve.
• Quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Strain juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup).
• In workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, give macerated berries five 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups).
• In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices and Kirsch until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine.
• Set aside until cake is cooled.
• FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:.
• When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment.
• Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed.
• Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).
• TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
• Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers.
• Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer.
• Pour 1/2 of pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake.
• Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge.
• Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge).
• Repeat with 20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top.
• Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries.
• Serve, or chill for up to 4 hours.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE WITH BASIL

Steps:

• Bring 1 1/2 cups cream to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bruise large basil leaves by hitting repeatedly with the dull side of a knife, and stir into cream. Remove from heat, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let steep for 25 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing solids to extract liquid. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 5 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, the baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers. (The largest pieces should be the size of small peas.)
• Whisk together 3/4 cup heavy cream, the eggs, and vanilla. Stir into flour using a fork until ingredients are moistened but not fully incorporated. (Do not overmix.)
• Turn dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and pat into a 9 1/2-inch circle. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
• Bake until light golden brown and just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, macerate strawberries with remaining 1/4 cup sugar, plus more if needed, depending on sweetness, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour.
• Toss berries with small basil leaves. Whisk basil cream with confectioners' sugar in the chilled bowl of a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Mound basil cream on shortcake. Spoon berries with juice over top.