Fresh Strawberry Cake

Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten was cooked in a parking lot.  I kid you not.  After college, I moved down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and holy cow do they know how to cook down there on the bayou!  I was born in Texas and grew up in the Carolinas, so I’ve tasted my fair share of delicious Southern food.  But I was in for a surprise when I moved to southern Louisiana.  I was in Cajun food heaven!  To this day, the best fried fish I’ve ever eaten was cooked in the parking lot outside of LSU’s Tiger Stadium.  That same parking lot was also where I first tried alligator. LSU was playing the Florida Gators, so it was entirely appropriate that we fried up some alligator bites that day.  It was pretty good actually.  It tasted like chicken.

One of the coolest things about living in the deep South is how well everything grew.  I planted some pepper seeds outside of my apartment during my first year there.  That plant grew to about 4 feet tall and was loaded with hundreds of tiny, red peppers.  I have no idea what the pepper was, but I know that just touching a sliced edge of the pepper to your tongue would make your tongue go numb for at least 10 minutes.  But on the other end of the spicy scale, Louisiana is known for its’ strawberries.  Thanks to the warm weather, strawberry season starts early down there…and this Fresh Strawberry Cake is one of my favorite uses for fresh strawberries!

What do I miss the most about southern Louisiana?  I’m tempted to say it’s the weather since I now live in upstate New York where the winter seems like it lasts longer and longer every year.  I remember wearing shorts on New Year’s Day in Baton Rouge.  Shorts!  But I’d have to say that the food is hands down the thing I miss the most.  I developed a serious love for Cajun food, and I’ve posted some of favorites here in the past.

Fresh Strawberry Cake

But one of my favorite treats from Louisiana that I miss the most was actually not Cajun at all.  A local bakery in Baton Rouge made a famous strawberry cake that folks would go crazy about every Spring!  This cake was every bit as good as advertised, too.  It featured layers upon layers of white cake topped with a light strawberry frosting made with chopped, fresh strawberries.  It was basically the best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever eaten!  Not surprisingly, the bakery kept the recipe for this cake closely guarded, so this is my attempt at recreating this delicious dessert.  To be honest, it’s not far off.  I should know.  I ate a few of those strawberry cakes during my years in Louisiana.

**Update** I recently made a similar version of this cake using blackberries instead of strawberries.  It turned out great!  I used readers’ comments from this post to slightly tweak the recipe.  If you love blackberries, then give this Blackberry Cake a shot!

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2-3 pounds fresh strawberries, stems and hulls removed
For the Frosting
• See separate recipes for frosting (below)

Instructions

For the Cake
1. Grease and flour (3) 8” or 9” round cake pans; set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Using a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until well combined; set aside.
3. Using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (~4-5 minutes on medium speed). Add the egg and egg whites; mix on low speed until well combined.
4. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl; mix on low speed until well combined.
5. Add the milk, sour cream, vanilla extract and almond extract; mix on low speed until well combined.
6. Add the remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed until well combined. (Tip: Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully mixed.)
7. Divide the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Let cakes cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack until completely cool.
For the Frosting
9. Make either the Original Frosting or the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (both recipes below). Note: Some readers have had trouble with the Original version being too loose of a frosting. I have personally never had this happen, but I have included a basic cream cheese frosting recipe here as well. Feel free to make whichever frosting you'd like...both are delicious!
To Assemble the Cake
10. Slice ⅓ of the strawberries into thin slices; set aside. Dice the remaining strawberries into smaller pieces.
11. Place one layer of cake on a large plate. If using the Original Frosting recipe, spread a layer of diced strawberries on top of the cake and then top with frosting. If using the Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, proceed with frosting the top layer of cake. Repeat this step with the second layer of cake and more frosting.
12. Using an offset spatula, frost the sides of the cake. (Note: If using the Original Frosting recipe, it is helpful to refrigerate the frosting for about 20-30 minutes before frosting the sides of the cake.)
13. Slice the remaining strawberries and garnish the top of the cake with the slices.

Notes

**Updated 7/7/2017** A number of readers have noted that the Original Frosting recipe was too loose for frosting. This recipe had diced strawberries folded into the frosting. I have played with a number of ways to thicken this frosting, but the addition of the liquid from the strawberries is difficult to overcome. To make this recipe more "foolproof," I suggest just sprinkling the diced strawberries in between each layer of cake and then topping with the frosting. The frosting will still be delicious, and each bite of cake will have that fresh strawberry taste! If you want to get creative, you can press diced or sliced strawberries into the sides of the cake, too. I have remade this recipe using this method here at home, and it works great. Give it a shot!

A reader recently suggested making/serving this cake in a 13x9 baking pan. That would definitely solve any possible issues with looser frosting as you wouldn't need to frost the sides of the cake if it is served this way.

*Updated* Original Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 3½-4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Strawberry Frosting
1. Using a clean bowl, beat the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Place bowl in the refrigerator to chill.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
3. Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the frosting and gently stir until well combined. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture; gently stir until well combined.

Notes

A reader noted in the comments that she uses whipped topping (i.e. Cool Whip) to make this cake, and it has always worked well. I haven't personally tried that yet, but I can totally see how it would work as whipped topping is more stable than whipped cream. If you give this one a shot with whipped topping, let me know how it turns out!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 12 Tbsp (6 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ Tbsp vanilla extract
• 5½-6 cups powdered sugar
• 3 cups strawberries, diced

Instructions

1. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth.
2. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
3. Using a spatula or large spoon, stir in diced strawberries.

Notes

A reader made a great observation that dicing the strawberries could lead to too much liquid coming out of the berries. If your strawberries are particularly ripe or juicy, consider slicing them or chopping in larger pieces to minimize the amount of liquid that they produce. Another idea is to simply not mix the berries into the frosting but instead make the frosting without the strawberries and then sprinkle the berries on top of the frosting once it's been added to the cake.