Monday

Strawberry Cake

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I came across a picture of a slice of strawberry cake while scrolling down my Tumblr feed last week, a basic vanilla cake with a layer of whip cream and fresh, plump looking strawberries in the middle. Made my mouth water, and I then proceeded to google strawberry cake. I can't believe I have never actually eaten a real strawberry cake before!
So I scoured the internet for a recipe that sounded appealing. Too many strawberry cake recipes involve using cake mix and/or strawberry gelatin, and I just wanted a fresh cake made from scratch. Finally found one by Kate, over at A Dash of Sass (seriously, go look through this blog, I love her entries!) and it looked easy enough.

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The only problem is the price of fresh strawberries in Malaysia. For good, sweet, juicy strawberries, I had to pay out of my nose. You can substitute fresh strawberries for frozen ones, but I don't recommend using canned fruit for this. The syrup from the canned fruit will muck up the balance of sweetness in the recipe.
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Anyhoo, on to the recipe (sourced from A Dash of Sass, who adapted it from Paula Deen's Hummingbird Cake recipe)

Strawberry Cake

  • 3 cups self-rising flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup melted butter* (Kate uses vegetable oil, which is fine, I just prefer butter)
  • 1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries, strained of seeds
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 4 large eggs, beaten
  • red food coloring (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.
  2. Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.
  3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.
  4. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
  5. Prepare the cream cheese frosting (recipe below); frost as desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.
With this batch, I managed to fill four 7-inch pans

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Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick of butter, softened
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 3 cups (approx. 1 box) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 1 TBL milk (if needed)

Directions:

  1. Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
  2. Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness is achieved. You may need less than 3 cups if you like your frosting less sweet.
  3. Stir in vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.

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The result was the softest, freshest cake I have yet tasted... and when paired with that luscious tangy, and almost sweet cream cheese frosting it's just a really, really good cake. Trust me, this is one recipe you want to learn and have under your belt. It's easy to whip up, it tastes amazing and that lovely pink will not fail to impress.
Give it a shot, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.
Posting this entry is now making me crave the taste, so despite the fact that it's midnight... I'm going to head downstairs and get myself a slice of this cake. I'll have to run an extra half hour tomorrow, but it'll be worth it!
Thank you, Kate, for this AMAZING recipe!
Love,
Nabs

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