Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Frosting

I once went a little strawberry-crazy.

I baked several strawberry cupcakes and miniature cakes.

I made strawberry chocolate and white chocolate decorations.

Also a mini-bundt form just because I had one.

Some pretty cupcakes resulted.

This would have been an absolute dream for me, say, a decade ago?

But it was still delicious.

And who doesn't like tiny cakes? Easier to frost than big cakes... but probably harder to stack (in a stable manner.)

I didn't hold back with the decorations, even knowing that the sweetness would get to be overwhelming!

...and just a couple more indulgent shots...

Now, for the recipes:

Homemade Strawberry Cake from A Dash of Sass:

Ingredients:

Butter and flour for the pans

3 cups self-rising flour (I made my own)

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups pureed strawberries, strained

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon zest

4 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour your pans: Kate's adapted version calls for three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans.

2. In a large bowl, stir to combine the self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.

3. Divide the batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes. (Less for smaller pans in my case.)

4. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream from 17 Dove Street:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tsp vanilla

4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 

3/4 cup fresh strawberries, crushed, pureed, or minced

Directions:

1. Prepare strawberries and place in a sieve to drain out all the juices. 

2. In large bowl, cream butter, whipping until fluffy. Beat in cream cheese and vanilla. Gradually add confectioners sugar, beating well (the mixture will be quite stiff). 

3. Add strawberries, beat in gently. Mixture will immediately soften.

4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before frosting to allow the frosting to firm up.

Yield: enough to frost a 2 layer cake, a sheet cake, or 2 dozen cupcakes.

I made the strawberry chocolates by grinding freeze-dried strawberries into powder using a mortar and pestle. For the best consistency, sift the powder to remove seed fragments. I then mixed the powder into some melted white chocolate and piped it into shapes with a ziploc bag.

The cake was delicious, but strawberry frosting always gives me trouble since the strawberry juices become syrup in the frosting and tend to run out, as you can see in the pictures. It was still delicious, but I think I'll try a strawberry buttercream with freeze-dried berries instead someday to avoid the consistency issue. The frosting stays visually appealing if eaten immediately after the frosting is made, but the more it sits, the more it separates, in my experience. 

Next time, I'd definitely try the cake with a different, non-strawberry frosting so the cake's more delicate flavor could take center stage!