Fresh Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting is the ultimate Southern dessert for any special occasion or a delightful dinner with family.
Fresh Homemade Strawberry Cake
I often think of strawberry cake around Mother's Day. It possesses a certain charm, richness, softness, and sweetness that remind me of mothers.
This Fresh Strawberry Cake is a little different from my Mother's heirloom recipe she made when I was growing up in the '50s.
She made the cake from a white cake mix, strawberry jello, and a carton of frozen strawberries in their juice.
The frosting was made with butter, powdered sugar, and a little of the frozen strawberries that give the glorious pink color, beautiful!
In recent years, cake mixes have become increasingly smaller, making it more challenging to achieve the full volume of the original recipe in the cake batter.
I began to see other recipes adding additional flour, sugar, and milk to the recipe, so I started experimenting with the recipe to see if I could restore the volume of the cake batter.
Some of the other addition that would yield a better texture to the cake is the combination of butter and oil in the cake batter.
I am pleased with the results of adding these additional ingredients to this iconic Southern cake. Without losing the flavor and the pretty pink color, I created the ultimate Strawberry Cake we all adore.
Fresh juicy strawberries take center stage in this show-stopping strawberry cake and buttercream frosting.
This three-layer Strawberry Cake will have an even more intense strawberry flavor if you make it a day ahead, thanks to the fresh strawberries.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE RECIPE? TAKE ME TO THE RECIPE FOR FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE
Below, under the next heading, I provide a list of preferred ingredients, tips, and cooking instructions for Fresh Strawberry Cake, as well as similar recipe ideas you can explore.
You can also scroll down to the bottom, where you will find a full printable recipe card with the amounts of the ingredients, complete instructions, and notes.
TIPS AND TIDBITS TO PREPARE THE BEST FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE
Strawberries. The strawberry flavor in the cake will be robust and sweet if you use the freshest, ripe strawberries. The fresher the strawberries, the more juice will be rendered when diced. Give 20-45 minutes for the strawberries to release their juices. Adding a teaspoon or two of sugar will help the strawberries release their juices more easily.
Room temperature. It is best to bring the eggs, butter, and cream cheese to room temperature before starting the recipe.
Cake mix. In recent years, cake mixes have become smaller, decreasing from 15.5 oz. to 13.5 oz. Therefore, I added a cup of self-rising flour to make up the difference. It keeps the cake at a nice size without compromising its richness.
Alternate ingredients. Ensure that you alternate the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to prevent the batter from separating during baking.
Don't overmix the batter. Once the batter looks smooth, stop mixing. Beating the batter yields a tough and crumbly texture.
Cake layers. I highly recommend using a scale to measure the batter when adding it to your cake pans. It creates even layers and a prettier presentation.
Do not overbake. Remember, cakes continue to cook slightly as they cool. I remove when slightly moist crumbs cling to the toothpick inserted in the center.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE
Stand mixer or handheld mixer.
Cake Pans
Parchment pan liners
Non-stick spray
Large rubber spatula
Cake Pans
Parchment pan liners
Non-stick spray
Large rubber spatula
CAKE:
White cake mix
Strawberry jello
Eggs
Sugar
Self-rising flour
Butter
Vegetable oil
Strawberry jello
Eggs
Sugar
Self-rising flour
Butter
Vegetable oil
FROSTING:
Milk
Fresh strawberries
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla
Milk
Fresh strawberries
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla
HOW TO MAKE FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE
CAKE;
Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature before preparing the cake.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 8-inch round cake pans with a light coating of cooking spray such as Pam. Line the three cake pans with 8-inch round parchment paper liners; set aside.
Using a hand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter on low speed in a large mixing bowl until creamy.
In a medium bowl, add cake mix, self-rising flour, and strawberry gelatin. Whisk together until blended well.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix for one minute until well mixed.
Add 1/2 cup of the finely chopped strawberries and a very small amount of their juice to the batter, stirring on low for 1 minute until evenly distributed. A little juice from the strawberries is ok, but try not to add too much.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake on the center oven rack until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with barely any crumbs attached. About 23 minutes.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before inverting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cakes are cooling, prepare the strawberry buttercream frosting.
After the cake has cooled completely, arrange it on a serving plate.
Place one layer on a cake platter. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the strawberry buttercream frosting on the first layer. Spread evenly across the layer to the edge.
Repeat this process with the other two layers, frosting the sides after the final layer is applied.
Place the frosted cake in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, approximately 30-40 minutes. It does not have to be refrigerated for leftovers.
FROSTING:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
Add 5 cups of confectioner's sugar, 1 cup of finely chopped strawberries, and all the juice.
Beat until creamy and smooth for 7 minutes, adding 1/2 cup more confectioner's sugar at a time to achieve the right spreadable consistency.
Try to beat the whole 7 minutes to emulsify the strawberries for easy spreading in the frosting.
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That looks so tasty! I just ordered a bunch of strawberries in my next grocery delivery too. I think a cake is on the horizon!
ReplyDeleteThank you Carlee. Love Strawberry season.
DeleteUh oh
ReplyDeleteI had everything layed out as directed and have no idea about the eggs and milk
They are in the ingredients but not in the directions
I already started this and am afraid I will have to throw it out
The recipe with all ingredients is at the very bottom of the post.
DeleteIt doesn't say to add the milk , eggs or oil in the directions. I just put the milk, eggs and oil in after mixing up the butter and sugar and mixed it all together then added the dry mix in.o Also the directions say to set out 1/2 cup butter but then it doesn't tell you how much of that butter to add to the cake mix and how much of it to add to the frosting. I ended up adding 1/2 cup to both. Directions are not complete but I figured it out and it turned out great.
ReplyDeleteYou are a doll to bring this to my attention. I left off one of the sentences when I copied and pasted the recipe in the printed recipe section. I have since corrected it. So glad it turned out good. Again, thank you so much for letting me know.
DeleteI love strawberry and love cake more so strawberry cake is my huge lover! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAwesome recipe dear
ReplyDelete