Monday, June 25, 2012

Strawberry Cake Recipe!

So, I've been holding off posting this recipe because I don't yet have pictures of a completed cake!  I haven't had a lot of time for "leisure" baking... I even filmed the recipe while I was at my rental kitchen making a cake for a client thinking "I'll just insert a picture later".  Well, in my area strawberry season is quickly coming to close and the local farmers market is my favorite place to buy my fresh produce... I thought, in case it is also YOUR favorite place to buy your local, fresh berries I'd better hop-to and get this recipe posted!  You can, of course, make this recipe with frozen or non-local strawberries and it will taste just as good :)

So, presented without visual (for now), here is my strawberry cake recipe... I adapted it from Warren Brown's Yellow Butter Cake recipe, you can find it on YouTube!
Yay!  I unexpectedly had leftovers of this popular strawberry cake, so hooray, I can show you what it looks like :)

Strawberry Cake (Scratch)
*Yields 2- 8” rounds or approximately 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
(given by weight and by volume… weight is my preferred method of measurement)
  • 7 ounces All Purpose Flour (1 ¼ + 2 TBSP sifted)
  • 2 ounces Potato Starch (about  ¼ cup + 2 TBSP- found in the baking aisle or near the natural foods)
  • 1 ½ TSP Baking Powder
  • 1 TSP Salt
  • 1/8 TSP Baking Soda
  • 1 cup Strawberry Puree (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 TBSP Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 TSP Natural Strawberry Extract (optional, but recommended- I use Silver Cloud Estates Brand)
  • 6 ounces Unsalted Butter – softened (1 ½ sticks)
  • 12 ounces Extra-Fine Granulated Sugar (1 ½ cups + 3 TBSP- you can zap regular granulated sugar in the food processor to make extra-fine)
  • 4 large eggs
*this cake bakes up a light brownish pink- if you want a really pink strawberry cake, you can add a couple of drops of red or pink food coloring.

 Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare your pans- grease the bottom only, line with parchment paper  and lightly grease the parchment (if making cupcakes line your pans with cupcake liners).
  2. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar on low speed until light in color and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
  3. Into a separate bowl sift your flour (if measuring by volume, sift directly into the measuring cup).  Add remaining dry ingredients (potato starch, baking powder, salt and baking soda) and whisk to combine well and set aside.
  4. To your 1 cup of strawberry puree, add your extracts (and optional food color) and stir well to combine, set aside.
  5. With your mixer running on low, add your eggs 1 at a time, wait until each is well incorporated before adding another.  When all eggs are added, scrape the sides of the bowl.  Then mix another few seconds until smooth.
  6. With your mixer on low alternate adding the dry ingredients (1/3 at a time) and strawberry puree (1/2 at a time), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Do not wait for each addition to fully incorporate before adding the next (this step should take less than 1 minute to complete).
  7. When all ingredients are added scrape your bowl and paddle(s) well.  Then mix on high for another 15-20 seconds to thoroughly mix and add structure to the batter. Do not over mix, or your cake will be tough!
  8. Pour batter into prepared pans to about ½ to ¾ full and spread evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the edges and turn out onto a parchment paper lined cooling rack.  Cool completely before frosting!

This cake is delicious and tastes just like a freshly baked strawberry pie!  Pairs really well with cream cheese icing or strawberry buttercream!

Happy Caking :)

14 comments:

  1. This is the best Strawberry cake recipe I have ever tasted.
    I made a full recipe halving into cupcakes and one 8" layer and they are both superb.
    Thank you so much for sharing, nothing artificial about it, light and delicate

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    1. Oh, thank you! I really like this recipe because I am trying to stay away from artificial ingredients... most of the recipes I searched for, before coming up with this recipe, called for boxed cake mix and/or jello! I knew there must be other people looking for a cake recipe using only "real" ingredients! Thank you for your feedback!

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  2. Renee,

    Omg! This cake recipe is exactly what I was looking for, it's moist, fluffy, and a dream! Thank you, thank you! I made it using square and round, and it just turns out perfect.

    Thank you again!

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    1. Hi Erica! I'm so happy you liked the recipe! I'm always nervous about sharing my recipes and love to hear that they turn out well for other people! You are very welcome. Thank you for your encouragement!

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  3. The cake was everything the other posts have said beautifully moist and light but my cake did not look like the color of yours. I loved the pale pink it was what drew me to attempt your recipe but unfortunately the color of my cake was more of a muddy looking mauve or purple. I have yet to find one that is the light pink of yours.

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    1. I'm so glad you like the recipe! As far as the color... this cake does tend to be on the purpley side, it's just the color that strawberries will be naturally when cooked. If you want the trademark "pink" that people associate with strawberry cake you can add a drop or two of red or pink food coloring to the batter. If you don't want to use food coloring, you can try adding a few drops of lemon juice to the strawberry puree, it will help the berries retain their color when cooking. And finally, if you aren't satisfied with the color using lemon juice, but don't want to use artificial food dyes, you can add a couple of drops of beet juice. Beet juice is commonly used as a red dye alternative (many scratch bakers will use it in red velvet cake!). A few drops should help you get the color you want, but shouldn't effect the flavor. I tend to just use lemon juice to keep it natural, unless it's for a child's cake... then I'll add a drop of pink food color (Americolor gel) because I find they like and expect the pink color. The cake pictured above was leftovers from my daughter's cake, I believe I used food color in that batch (really just a drop or it will be neon!). Good Luck!!

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  4. Hi Renee,
    Thank you for your response I didn't add any colouring as I didn't want it to look artificial like those cake mixes with the gelatin and color added and the beet root juice I used once with a red velvet cake and it was a disaster. Your cake is a pale pink and I was so excited because it's exactly the color I wanted however ill try the lemon juice next time as I do love the cake, it's the best strawberry cake I've tasted and believe me I've made a few! the other point is lighting when you took your picture or is it true to color?
    And I wanted to know what your frosting is......so white and pretty!

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  5. Hello I am very interested in making this cake.....couple questions 1)is there a subsitute for potatoe starch that I will be able to use? 2)can I make this in one 8" or 9" round pan then make my layers from that because I have a 8x3 and a 9x3 inch pans?

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  6. The cake here is phenomenal. I've made it many time and tried it with other fruits like blue berries, rhubarb, I actually have a raspberry cake cooling at this moment as well! Love the recipe, great with homemade cream cheese frosting.

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  7. just blogwalking.. Nice post and have a nice day :)

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  8. Will this recipe do ok with doubling? BTW, I LOVE this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  9. I've tried to make this recipe today. It's just wonderful! I really love the smell, great mix of strawberry, vanilla and butter. Sooooo good!

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  10. Hi.. great recipe. . But in India we don't get potato starch can you tell me what can be substituted in its place. Thanks.. :-)

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  11. Hi.. great recipe. . But in India we don't get potato starch can you tell me what can be substituted in its place. Thanks.. :-)

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