fresh strawberry layer cake
The cake that made the strawberry hater swoon.
One of the most wonderful occurrences as a recipe developer is when someone who normally dislikes a certain flavor comes to enjoy it based on something I created. It’s enormously gratifying. I let one of my coworkers try a slice of this cake after he helped me develop some of the nuances of the recipe, and he gave it high accolades despite not usually liking strawberry-flavored things. Pretty sure I danced around yelling “YAAYYYYY” at work when he told me.
Sure, creating these goods has its own cathartic meaning for me alone, but the true enjoyment comes from benefiting other people. I wouldn’t keep up a website if I weren’t rooting for a more widespread positive impact. I cook to nourish J and myself, to treat others, to encourage comrades and strangers alike to try something new and empower themselves in front of the stove or oven.
Anywhoobers, soap box moment over. I knew for awhile a strawberry cake had to be part of my spring repertoire. I felt lackluster at first about a layer cake since I believe my layering madness last year burnt me out, but after baking the caramel macchiato cake for J’s birthday, the spark ignited. Layer cakes are a bit of a labor, but they’re worth the time. Something especially beautiful about a towering confection at the center of a table. Fucking majestic.
Bury Me in Berries
The key to flavoring and coloring the cake and its frosting: freeze-dried strawberries. These are pretty widely available nowadays. I usually just pick up a bag from Target. For this recipe, snag a 2 oz bag.
Grind up the strawberries real good in a food processor. Mashing by hand really won’t get the crumbs fine enough – I mean, unless you’re incredibly determined. If you are, you are powerful and shouldn’t be screwed with.
Set aside a bit of the strawberry powder for the frosting, and sift the rest into the sugar. This helps it combine more smoothly into the cake batter without ungainly clumps.
The rest of the ingredients are fairly standard for a cake: butter, eggs, vanilla, Greek yogurt (for extra moisture), flour, leaveners, and salt. A bit of buttermilk at the end of the mixing process seals the deal and creates a thick, fluffy batter ready and eager for your oven.
The next fun flavoring secret is strawberry jam. Use a good quality brand of preserves for the best flavor and texture. Please don’t use jelly. Fold the jam into the batter so you can still see streaks, but enough that it’s no longer a big glob.
Divide the batter into 2 well-greased 9-inch pans (or 3 6-inch). Bake until the center is set.
Halvsies
The cake must be fully cooled before you work with the frosting, so after a short stint in the pans, loosen the cake onto wire racks. If you’re pressed for time, a 20-30 minute bout in the freezer chills it real quick. Otherwise, let them hang out at room temperature for about an hour or so.
You can certainly leave this cake as a two-layer fixture, but I went a step further and sliced each slab in half to create four layers. It’s hard for me to describe my method of cutting the layers for the best and most even pieces, but I’ll do my best here. I basically trace around the center of the cake, rotating the layer as I do, with a sharp serrated knife, until I reach my initial cut. Then I carefully slide the knife through the center until it meets the slice on the other side. This typically gives me a great result, but if they’re not perfect, don’t worry.
Again, if you’re more comfortable with two layers, do that. Just be sure to level the tops if they’ve domed a bit for the most stable cake.
Now, time to frost.
Frosting with a Zing
Remember that bit of strawberry powder I suggested you reserve? That dude comes into play for the buttercream. You can even grind up more for a richer pink color, but I enjoyed the softness of the result so kept my amount on the lower side.
Either way, you’ll also need powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest (the zing factor), and vanilla, and likely a bit of milk or water to thin the frosting out. I usually choose heavy cream for a touch of floof. Who doesn’t like floof. Whip it all up until smooth and spreadable.
Set one layer of cake on a stable surface, like a cake stand or a plate. Frost the top, then add a second layer and frost the top of that. Repeat with the other two layers. Swipe a thin layer of buttercream around the whole cake and chill briefly to set. This is the crumb layer, which helps the rest of the buttercream swirl on nicely without loosening any part of the cake.
Load up the cake with the remaining buttercream. If you’re not quite ready to serve it, chill in the fridge until you are. Otherwise, garnish with lots of fresh strawberries and cut into that pretty thing.
I always recommend storing the cake in the fridge if you can, but I understand spatial limitations. If you keep it at room temperature, I highly suggest investing in a covered cake stand. Such helps preserve the integrity of the decorations and is a much tighter seal than plastic or foil.
Light, sweet, and brimming with fresh strawberry flavor. I’m really hyped that I avoided the strawberry jello trap when choosing the components of this bad boy. Oftentimes, strawberry cakes contain the powder for coloring, but even though the cake layers themselves are subtly pink rather than in-your-face magenta, the bright taste lacks not.
Also, If you’re feeling really strawberry-forward, inspired, may I suggest a Fresh Strawberry Lime Spritz?
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forge to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
fresh strawberry layer cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups freeze-dried strawberries
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup high-quality strawberry jam
strawberry lemon buttercream
- 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberry powder
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- milk or water to thin, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans generously with butter or oil.
- Add the freeze dried strawberries to a food processor and blitz until reduced to fine crumbs. Sift 1/2 cup of the powder with the sugar. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and strawberry sugar until creamy and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing each until fully combined. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whip until just combined. Slowly stream in the buttermilk and mix until thick. Be careful not to overmix. With a spatula, swirl in the strawberry jam.
- Divide the batter between the cake pans. Tap a few times on the counter top to bust any air bubbles. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until the center is set and an inserted toothpick emerges clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pans, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. If the sides are a bit sticky, run a knife around the edges to loosen. For a quicker cooling, pop layers in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- With a serrated knife, carefully cut each layer in half. Don't worry if the layers aren't perfect. Close enough really is good enough here.
- When the cakes are ready to frost, make the buttercream. Beat the remaining strawberry powder with the powdered sugar, butter, and lemon zest until fluffy and spreadable. Add milk or water as needed to thin the frosting if it seems too stiff.
- Level the cake layers as needed and set on a plate or cake stand. Frost the top of one layer with about 1/3-1/2 cup buttercream, then set the second layer on top. Repeat with the two remaining layers. Coat with a thin layer of frosting and pop in the fridge for 15 minutes. Swirl the remaining buttercream all over the cake until fully coated.
- Garnish the cake with fresh strawberries and serve!
