You didn’t think that two strawberry recipes were all I was going to do during my strawberry kick, did you!? I hope not, because I definitely have more coming your way! Perhaps the most impressive of the strawberry things I’ve made during this obsessive run is this layer cake, which I made to celebrate my mother’s (much too brief) visit to the states earlier this month. The recipe in Bon Appetit calls this “Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Frosting,” but in my head I call this “Strawberry Layer Cake.” Which do you like better?
This was only my second layer cake ever, so I feel like a bit of an impostor posting it here as if I know what I’m doing. After all, I’m no Deb of Smitten Kitchen, whose blog is absolutely full of perfect-looking layer cakes! So keep that in mind when you read on past the jump and see that this cake was actually a bit lopsided . . .
The cake batter itself was pretty traditional and definitely self-explanatory, so I won’t go into it much here. I was kind of surprised at how thick the batter was, but once I thought about the fact that this is a 4-layer-tall layer cake, I realized that it makes perfect sense that the cake itself would be on the dense side. This is the first cake batter I’ve ever seen that actually held a dent once I’d removed the mixer paddle:
When I poured it into the pans, I had to really work to smooth it all out so it wouldn’t be lumpy! Who woulda thought?
When the cake came out of the oven, it looked pretty good but I wasn’t happy with the top of the cake and knew I was going to have to shave it down to be able to assemble the layers properly:
(aside: I’m really sorry these pictures aren’t as good as usual, I was in a rush!)
After the cakes came out of the oven and cooled, I wrapped each one in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil and stuck them in the freezer. In my case, I made all the parts and assembled the next day, so freezing also ensured the cake wouldn’t dry out, but the real reason I froze the cake was because cutting through frozen cake is exponentially easier!
Unfortunately I’m really not very good at cutting the layers evenly so my layers came out a bit lopsided. Eh, I don’t like perfect-looking things anyway — I can pretend this is a “design feature,” right?
Once the layers were sliced it was time to start building the stack. First a cake layer, then a layer of jam:
Then frosting:
Then strawberries, then repeat! After repeating 2 more times and adding the top layer, I could really see just how uneven this cake was turning out:
I considered trimming the sides down some but decided it wasn’t worth it (in my head I kept repeating “Design Feature! Design Feature!”) and moved on to covering the cake:
This is my favorite part of cake-making, actually, I love spreading out all the frosting all over and hiding the middle! Especially on a cake like this, where the middle is more of a surprise, frosting the outside makes me think of wrapping a gift. I made quick work of covering the whole cake:
And decided to leave it “imperfect” instead of trying to get it perfect. I’m not really sure I would have gotten it to perfect even if I had kept trying, honestly . . .
Luckily, this recipe calls for decoratively swirling the jam into the frosting, and that final step worked miracles on the look of the cake:
See? Messy = beautiful!
To get this effect, I plopped spoonfuls of jam randomly all over the cake, then used the back of the spoon to swirl the jam into the frosting. Don’t do it too much or the texture will get too blended, you want it to still look like different colors all swirled together. I really loved the way this technique looked and will definitely be doing it again in the future!
I had extra strawberries left over so I decided to decorate the cake with them:
(ugh I’m really sorry about the lighting in this photo, it’s truly awful!)
In this picture you can see just how crooked the cake came out in the end . . .
The best part? Slicing in and taking a bite!
What makes this cake amazing, other than the impressive way it looks with all those slices, was that the true strawberry flavor is what prevails. The frosting and cake aren’t too sweet, so you really get a fresh strawberry taste in every bite. My mother declared it one of the best cakes she’s had in years!
Oh, one warning though: This recipe makes a HUGE cake. Like, enough for 15 people. You (and your waistbands) have been warned.
Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting
adapted from J.Morgan’s Steakhouse in Montpelier, VT, via Bon Appetit May 2009
Frosting:
- 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (chilled)
Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 7 large eggs
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 6 tbsp plus 1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
- 2 1/4 pounds strawberries, hulled & slices (about 6 cups in volume)
Frosting:
With electric mixer, beat whipping cream until peaks form. Set aside. In new bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth (scape down sides of bowl when needed). Beat in sugar and then jam. Fold whipped cream into frosting. Cover & chill at least 2 hours, or until firm enough for spreading (mine sat overnight due to scheduling).
Cake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 2 9-inch cake pans by buttering and flouring them.
In medium bowl, stir together first 4 cake ingredients. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Mixing them in one at a time, add eggs, beating after each one. Beat in vanilla, then sour cream. Beat for 30 seconds. Split flour mixture in 3 parts and beat each part in before adding the next third. Do not over beat! Pour batter into prepared pans (batter is very thick).
Bake 50 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and let cakes rest in pans for 10 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely. You may need to run a knife around the pan sides to release the cakes. Once cakes are completely cool, wrap each in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for an hour (or more!). If you’re confident at slicing and buiding layer cakes, you can certainly skip the freezing step.
Assembly:
Working with still-cold cakes, use a serrated knife to cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place one cake half, cut side up, on the cake plate/platter. Spread 2 tbsp strawberry jam, then 3/4 cup frosting, onto cake layer. Sprinkle 3/4 cup sliced berries onto frosting. Repeat cake, jam, frosting, and strawberry layers 2 more times, then top with remaining cake layer (cut side down).
Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Stir remaining jam to loosen it up, then using the back of the spoon, spread jam into frosting to create a marbled effect.
