Description
This delicious Strawberry Cake features a moist cake infused with fresh strawberry juice, layered with a homemade strawberry jam filling, and topped with a light whipped cream cheese frosting. Perfect for celebrations or a sweet treat, the cake balances fresh and creamy textures with vibrant berry flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 ¼ lbs (570 g) strawberries, remove stems and quarter
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ½ cup (118 ml) avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (330 g) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature preferred
- Food coloring optional (two chocolate chip-sized drops of electric pink gel food coloring)
Filling
- ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Frosting
- 2 cups (475 ml) cold heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened
Instructions
- Prepare pans and preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make strawberry juice: Place quartered strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a measuring cup to obtain 1 to 1 ¼ cups of juice. Reserve pulp and remaining puree for the jam filling.
- Reduce strawberry juice: Pour the strawberry juice into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to ⅓ cup, about 10 minutes. Add ⅔ cup milk and whisk together. Stir in food coloring if using. Set aside.
- Cream wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat together oil, softened butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract using an electric mixer until fully combined.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix batter: With mixer on low speed, gradually alternate adding flour mixture and strawberry milk mixture to the butter mixture, starting and ending with flour. Stir until just combined after each addition.
- Beat egg whites: In a clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in egg whites: Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter using a spatula until completely combined. Do not overmix.
- Bake the cakes: Divide batter evenly into prepared pans and bake at 350F for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool cakes: Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges, invert onto cooling racks, and let cool completely while preparing jam filling.
- Prepare jam filling: Combine reserved strawberry pulp, ⅓ cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk and cook over medium heat, boiling and whisking constantly until thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled.
- Make frosting base: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until creamy and smooth.
- Whip heavy cream: In a chilled separate bowl, beat cold heavy cream with remaining 1 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Combine frosting: Gently fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture on low speed until fully blended.
- Assemble cake: Place one cake layer on a serving tray. Pipe a dam around the edges using a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Fill the center with cooled jam filling.
- Add second layer and frost: Place the second cake layer on top and cover the entire cake evenly with frosting.
- Chill and serve: Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- You may substitute cake flour with 2 ⅔ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour.
- Use leftover egg yolks in recipes like pound cake, chocolate pie, or creme brulee.
- For decorative frosting with red swirls, paint stripes of colored icing inside the piping bag before filling it with frosting.
- Ensure egg whites are at room temperature for best volume when beating to stiff peaks.
- Use fresh strawberries for the best flavor in juice and jam filling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
