This fresh strawberry cake is my dream dessert! Made with all natural ingredients, you can taste the sweet, slightly tart flavor of strawberries in each bite of this fresh strawberry cake. For the best strawberry flavor, reduced strawberry puree is used in the actual cake while powdered freeze-dried strawberries are used in the buttercream frosting!
What Makes this Fresh Strawberry Cake Recipe so Good?
I am not a big fan of using artificial flavorings in my bakes. So when I set out to make this strawberry cake from scratch, I knew that I wanted to capture the natural flavor of strawberries using wholesome ingredients. To do so, I used:
- reduced strawberry puree in the cake batter
- freeze-dried strawberries in the buttercream frosting
Together, these ingredients made for the most flavorful strawberry cake without any artificial additions!
Strawberry Puree Reduction
So a strawberry puree reduction is exactly what it sounds like and is so easy to make. First, you want to blend fresh strawberries that have been hulled and quartered into a smooth puree. Next, cook puree until it reduces by half and takes on a thick, paste-like consistency. Allow the strawberry puree reduction to cool completely before using. Strawberry puree reduction may be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up 1-2 days.
To make strawberry cake you will need:
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Milk of Choice
- Strawberry Puree Reduction
- Unsalted Butter
- Flavorless Oil i.e. Vegetable Oil
- Apple Cider or White Vinegar
- Vanilla Extract
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
This strawberry buttercream frosting is naturally packed with so much strawberry flavor thanks to freeze-dried strawberries!
What are Freeze-Dried Strawberries?
Freeze-dried strawberries are frozen strawberries that have been thoroughly dehydrated giving them a crunchier texture compared to dried strawberries. To remove water content from frozen strawberries, they are placed in a vacuum under low pressure which evaporates the liquid in the frozen strawberries into vapor! What left behind are scrumptious bites of crunchy, nutrient dense strawberries.
Freeze dried strawberries can be purchased quite easily from stores like Target, Trader Joes or your local health food store. To purchase online, Amazon will be your best source.
To make strawberry buttercream frosting, you will need:
- Unsalted Butter
- Confectioners’ (Powdered) Sugar
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Vanilla Extract
How to Assemble Semi-Naked Strawberry Cake
- Remove the domed tops off cooled cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveler.
- Place a clean surface on top of a turntable i.e. cake stand/cake board and spread a small amount of buttercream onto the center.
- Position the first cake layer faced up in the center of prepared surface.
- Spoon 1/2 cup of the buttercream onto cake and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula.
- Repeat layering process once more with the second cake layer and buttercream.
- Place the final cake layer faced down on top of the second layer.
- Using an offset spatula, fill in the gaps between cake layers and spread a thin layer of the buttercream along the sides of the cake.
- Smooth out buttercream with a bench scraper. Fill any gaps in cake with more buttercream and repeat smoothing with a bench scraper process as necessary.
- Add a small amount of the buttercream on the top layer of cake – just enough to spread into a thin layer with offset spatula (about 2-3 tablespoons of buttercream).
- Transfer remaining buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with desired piping tip. I used a Wilton 6B piping tip.
- Sprinkle powdered freeze-dried strawberries along the top border of cake (optional).
- Pipe a dollop of the buttercream on the top of the frosted cake along the outer perimeter. Leave about a 1/4 inch gap between each piped dollop.
- Fill the gaps between piped buttercream with a halved fresh strawberry.
How to Store Strawberry Cake
- Unfrosted strawberry cakes individually double wrapped in plastic wrap will last up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator and 1-3 months in the freezer. When ready to use frozen cakes, simply thaw out in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- Strawberry buttercream stored in an airtight container will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer. When ready to use frozen buttercream, simply thaw out in the refrigerator overnight or 1-2 hours at room temperature. Re-whip buttercream with hand or electric mixer to restore fluffy texture before using.
- Sliced assembled cake stored in an airtight container will last up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator and 1-2 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, frozen cake slices may be thawed overnight in the refrigerator or 1-2 hours at room temperature to restore soft texture.
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If you make this recipe, please make sure to let me know by tagging me @nourishedendeavors on Instagram or by leaving a comment in the comment section down below so I can find out how this recipe turned out for you! If you have any questions, ask away! I would love to answer your questions! Happy baking!
PrintFresh Strawberry Cake
This fresh strawberry cake is my dream dessert! Made with all natural ingredients, you can taste the sweet slightly tart flavors of strawberries in each bite of this cake. For the best strawberry flavor, reduced strawberry puree is used in the actual cake while powdered freeze-dried strawberries are used in the buttercream frosting!
- Prep Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake
- 3/4 lb (12 oz) Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Quartered
- 2 1/2 Cups (313 g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, Spooned and Leveled
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup (200 g) Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 Cup (177 ml) Milk of Choice, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Cup (113 g) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons (90 ml) Flavorless Oil i.e. Avocado or Vegetable Oil
- 2 Teaspoons Apple Cider or White Vinegar
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 1 Cup (226 g) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Slightly Firm to Touch, Not Softened
- 2 – 2 1/2 Cups (220–275 g) Confectioners’ (Powdered) Sugar, Sifted, Divided
- 0.5 Ounces (13 g) Freeze-Dried Strawberries
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) Heavy Whipping Cream,Plus More as Needed, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract, Optional
Assembly
- Fresh Strawberries
- Powdered Freeze-Dried Strawberries, Optional
Instructions
Strawberry Cake
- In a blender or food processor, blend the strawberries into a smooth puree. You should end up with a heaping 1 cup of strawberry puree.
- Pour strawberry puree into a medium deep-bottom saucepan and cook puree under medium low heat until it is reduced by half and takes on a thick, paste-like consistency (similar to the consistency of tomato paste as a point of reference). You should end up with a 1/2 cup of reduced strawberry puree.
- Allow strawberry puree reduction to cool completely before using in cake batter.
- Preheat the oven to 325F (165C). Grease and line (3) 6 inch round pans with parchment paper cutout. Alternatively, strawberry cake may be made as a two layer 8 or 9 inch cake.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk ingredients together to combine.
- Add the milk and vinegar into a small mixing bowl or measuring cup and whisk to combine. Set aside to allow mixture to thicken up before using.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer, add and cream the butter, oil and sugar together at medium high speed until mixture appears thick and fluffy in appearance, about 2-3 minutes.
- Mix the reduced strawberry puree and vanilla extract into creamed butter mixture to combine, about 1 minute.
- Next, beat the eggs into wet batter one at a time ensuring that the previous egg is completely incorporated before adding and beating in the next egg.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. In an alternating fashion, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, mix half of the dry ingredients into wet batter, followed by the milk and vinegar mixture, and ending with the remaining dry ingredients.
- Stop the mixer and use a flexible (silicone) spatula to scrape the sides and base of the bowl.
- Resume mixing cake batter at medium speed for additional 30-60 seconds to help ensure an evenly smooth batter.
- Divide cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through bake time. Cakes are ready once a toothpick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in baking pans for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Place freeze-dried strawberries in coffee grinder/food processor and grind into a fine powder.
- In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter at medium high speed until mixture is smooth and fluffy in appearance, about 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and powdered freeze-dried strawberries into creamed butter. Gradually increase mixer speed back to medium.
- Once all the sugar and powdered strawberries have been incorporated into butter, mix in the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract (optional) into buttercream.
- If buttercream appears to be on the soft side, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup at a time (may not need to use all of the remaining sugar) until a thick but spreadable consistency is reached.
- If buttercream appears too thick, mix in additional cream 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency (thick but spreadable) is reached.
- Increase mixer speed to medium high and mix strawberry buttercream for an additional 30-60 seconds. The resulting buttercream should be smooth and fluffy in appearance.
Assembly
- Remove the domed tops off cooled cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveler. This will allow cakes to be evenly stacked.
- Place a clean surface on top of a cake turntable i.e. cake stand/cake board and spread a small amount of the strawberry buttercream onto the center.
- Position the first cake layer faced up in the center of the prepared surface.
- Spoon 1/2 cup of the buttercream onto cake and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula.
- Repeat layering process once more with the second cake layer and buttercream.
- Place the final cake layer faced down on top of the second layer.
- Using an offset spatula, fill in the gaps between the cake layers and spread a thin layer of the buttercream along the sides of the cake.
- Smooth out buttercream with a bench scraper.
- Apply more buttercream over any obvious gaps in the cake and repeat smoothing with a bench scraper process as necessary. To preserve semi-naked cake look, take care not to add too much buttercream to cake.
- Add a small amount of the buttercream on the top layer of cake – just enough to spread into a thin layer with a offset spatula (about 2-3 tablespoons of buttercream).
- Transfer remaining buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with desired piping tip. I used a Wilton 6B piping tip.
- Sprinkle powdered freeze-dried strawberries along the top border of cake (optional).
- Pipe a dollop of the strawberry buttercream on the top of frosted cake along the outer perimeter. Leave about a 1/4 inch gap between each piped dollop.
- Fill the gaps between piped buttercream with a halved fresh strawberry. Try to use small strawberries as opposed to large strawberries if possible. This will help make the strawberries look proportional to the piped buttercream.
- Serve right away or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- To avoid ending up with dry, crumbly strawberry cake, take care to not over bake cake. Cakes are ready once a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Reduced Strawberry puree can be made 1-2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- To make freeze-dried strawberry powder, I used a coffee grinder given the small quantity I needed powdered. A small food processor will work as well.
- Left over freeze-dried make perfect addition to cereals, yogurts and so much more. Just keep in mind the freeze-dried strawberries will start to lose its initial crispness after a few days of opening the bag.
- If freeze-dried strawberry clumps up after being ground to a powder, simply pass through a sieve to break it up.
- Sliced assembled cake stored in an airtight container will last up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator and 1-2 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, frozen cake slices may be thawed overnight in the refrigerator or 1-2 hours at room temperature to restore soft texture.
- Information about freeze-dried strawberries was retrieved from here.
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Tiffany C.
Wow. This frosting is everything!
Of all of Winnie’s cakes I’ve made, this one was probably the one I most enjoyed. And that’s saying a lot since all her recipes are amazing.