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Strawberry Vanilla Cake

Strawberry Vanilla Cake Recipe

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 587
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups (310 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups (225 g) finely diced fresh strawberries
  • 1 ½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter, softened (for buttercream)
  • 4 to 5 cups (480 to 600 g) powdered sugar
  • ½ cup (120 ml) reduced strawberry purée (from about 2 cups fresh berries)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (for buttercream)
  • Pinch of salt

Method
 

  1. Purée 2 cups strawberries, simmer in a saucepan for 8 to 10 minutes until reduced by half and thick. Cool completely.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
  3. Beat 1 cup butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture in three parts, alternating with milk, mixing just until combined.
  5. Fold in diced strawberries. Divide batter between pans and bake 28 to 32 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
  6. For the buttercream, beat 1 ½ cups butter until creamy. Gradually add 4 cups powdered sugar, then reduced purée, vanilla, and salt. Beat until fluffy, adding more sugar if needed.
  7. Place one cake layer on a plate, spread with frosting, top with second layer, and frost the entire cake. Slice and serve.

Notes

Let the reduced strawberry purée cool fully before making the buttercream; warm purée will melt the butter. If the cake layers dome, you can trim the tops flat for neater stacking.