My husband doesn’t ask for much, but one thing he frequently asks for is strawberries. He loves them, and so do I. Our rabbit Louie loves them too, and he gladly eats the tops as a treat so nothing goes to waste. That means I have no excuse not to work in more strawberry recipes, and I’m doing that with this Fresh Strawberry Cake. Strawberry cake with strawberry frosting topped with fresh strawberries should satisfy everyone in the house. Plus it’s baking, and I need all the practice I can get since it’s a weak area. Let’s give this recipe a try!
This strawberry cake gets all of its flavor from fresh strawberries! The cake itself is soft and moist with a luscious strawberry cream cheese frosting.
The Ingredients
There are quite a few ingredients in this Fresh Strawberry Cake, and I was lucky enough to have quite a few of them on hand. Actually, I had most of them. That left me to buy the sour cream, cream cheese, strawberry jam, fresh strawberries, and freeze-dried strawberries.
And yes, freeze-dried strawberries were easy to find. My regular grocery store had a 0.8-ounce bag for $3.87. Unfortunately, it was only about half of what I needed once I ground it in my blender. Next time, I’ll be sure to buy two bags.
The Process
This isn’t a simple recipe, but it is well-written. I’m not the greatest baker, and I had no problem following along. I even whipped out my kitchen scale and weighed my dry ingredients for extra accuracy.
Making the Cakes
First up was making the cakes. I have quick-release cake pans, but I greased them with vegetable shortening and took the time to cut out parchment paper rounds since that’s how the recipe was written. It only took a few moments, and it did make the cakes release with no problems.
Next, I got out my stand mixer, an extra mixing bowl, and my bullet blender. The instructions listed exactly when and how to mix the cake ingredients. I loved that the bullet had measurements on the side—it made it very easy to blend up a cup of strawberry puree. Not having to pour the puree into a measuring cup saved some time and dish-washing.
The cakes went into the oven for 28 minutes then I gave them the toothpick test. It ultimately took 36 minutes to pass the test, then it was time to cool.
Making the Frosting
I had some time to wash up once the cakes were in the oven. It’s a requirement if you don’t have an extra whisk attachment, stand mixer bowl, and blender. Just be sure to dry them thoroughly as water is the enemy when it comes to making buttercream frosting.
I started off by grinding up the freeze-dried strawberries in my bullet blender and discovering I only had about half of what I needed. I was a little worried, but things worked out just fine. The frosting still mixed up beautifully, had plenty of strawberry flavor, and had a perfect consistency.
This step took me 12 minutes while the cakes were cooling. The frosting was done well before the cakes were cooled, so I left it in the stand mixer’s bowl on the counter. I gave it a quick mix right before I began frosting the cakes.
Assembly & Timing
My cakes needed to be leveled, but it only took a minute or two to do that. Then I was ready to put it all together. There was nothing unusual in this process at all. Simply place a cake, add frosting, and spread with an offset spatula. Then place the next layer on top and repeat. I finished up by frosting the sides and decorating the cake with a heap of leftover strawberries for a rustic look.
Here’s how my time was spent on the entire recipe:
- 21 minutes to prep the cakes
- 36 minutes to bake
- 20 minutes to cool in the pans
- 45 minutes to cool on wire rack (12 minutes to make frosting while cooling)
- 12 minutes to assemble
- 2 hours 14 minutes total
That’s quite a bit longer than the 1 hour 30 minutes listed, and I’m not sure why. Things went smoothly, but it may just be that I’m a slow baker. 🤷🏻♀️
