Monday, August 10, 2015

Strawberry & Yellow Layered Cake

This is the best cake I have ever made! I made it for the first time for my son's 7th Birthday.
It is so moist and full of flavor - not too sweet!

Three Layer Strawberry Yellow Cake


Ingredients for 2 Strawberry Layers:
2 ½ c – Cake Flour (if you don’t have any see separate instructions on how to make your own!)
1 tsp - Baking Soda
1/3 c Buttermilk (if you don’t have any see separate instructions on how to make your own!)
¼ c - Coconut Oil or Canola Oil
½ tsp - Almond Extract
¾ tsp - Vanilla Extract
8 Tbsp - Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
¾ c - Sugar
2 - Large Eggs (room temperature)
1 c - pureed fresh strawberries
1 tsp – Lemon Zest
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11      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees .
22    Butter three 9” round pans and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. And set aside.
33      In a medium bowl combine Flour & Baking Soda. Set aside.
44     In another medium bowl combine Buttermilk,Oil, Almond Extract & Vanilla Extract. Set aside.
55    In your adorable pink Kitchen Aid mixer, beat the Butter and Sugar with the paddle attachment until it forms a paste.
66     Add the eggs in a slow stream, beating well after each addition. Beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Gradually add the Buttermilk Mixture and beat for 1 minute at medium speed.
77      Reduce the speed to low and add the Flour Mixture. Mix until just combined.
88     Hand stir in Pureed Strawberries and Lemon Zest.
99      Spoon into 2 of the prepared cake pans and bake until the cakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. About 20 minutes. Cool all the way before removing from the pan.



Ingredients for 1 Fluffy Yellow Cake Center Layer
1/2 c -Unsalted Butter  (room temperature)
3/4 c - Sugar (I used 1 c sugar and ½ c honey)
1 – Eggs Separated (room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp – Vanilla Extract
1 c – Cake Flour (if you don’t have any see separate instructions on how to make your own!)
1/2 Tbsp – Baking Powder
1/2 c – Buttermilk (room temperature)(if you don’t have any see separate instructions on how to make your own!)


11      Preheat to 325 degrees
22      In your pretty pink Kitchen Aid, cream together Butter & Sugar
33      Add in Egg Yolks & Vanilla mixing until fully incorporated. Set aside.
44      In a separate bowl combine Flour & Baking Powder
55     Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, alternating with Buttermilk.
66      Mix until batter is fluffy but careful not to over mix.
77     Beat egg whites until foamy and thick.
88      Very gently fold egg whites into batter and mix JUST until incorporated.
99      Pour batter into prepared pan.
110   Bake 30-35 mins
111   Remove from oven and let cake cool COMPLETELY before taking out of the pan. I took mine out when it was still warm and it almost crumbled to pieces! Luckily it is so moist that I was able to press it back together and it wasn’t the end of the world J


Filling Ingredients:
About  ¼ c - Strawberry Jam
(Optional) Some thinly sliced fresh Strawberries
 (1 – 2 small cartons of strawberries depending on if you would like them in the filling and if you would like to decorate the top of the cake with them as well)
When all 3 cakes are cool – Remove a strawberry one from the pan and put on a cardboard round to make it easier to transfer to a platter.

1)      Spread a thin layer of jam on the top and if you would like put some thinly sliced strawberries on top.
2)      Remove the Yellow Cake from it’s pan and stack it on top of the jam covered Strawberry Cake.
3)      Spread another thin layer of strawberry jam and thinly sliced strawberries , then stack the last strawberry cake layer on top. Set aside.



Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 oz) Package Cream Cheese
¾ c - Sugar
1 tsp - Vanilla Extract
1 ½ c  - Heavy Whipping Cream
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11      In your cute Kitchen Aid Mixer – Beat Whipping Cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
22    Combine Cream Cheese, Sugar & Vanilla. Beat until smooth.
33      Then fold in Whipped Cream.


Cover the entire cake with the frosting and decorate the top with Fresh Strawberries and whatever else you would like!