When I turned 16, I got my first job, as a carhop, at Hall’s Georgetown Drive-In. I thought I had won the lottery! I got to work with an eclectic cast of characters – people who had lived much different lives than me in my relatively sheltered existence. It was a veritable soap opera. On top of all of that, I made quite the living for a teenager – in wages ($2.90/hour!) plus tips (!!), simply delivering food to hungry people in cars! I LOVED my job! However, there were also the STRAWBERRIES, a.k.a. the bain of my teenage existence. What? Could anything be bad about luscious, juicy strawberries?
Our restaurant was known for its delicious homemade strawberry pie. Who wouldn’t love a slice of that? Sounds great, doesn’t it? Not for the carhops! We had the job of cleaning and removing stems from 2 entire flats (12 pints each) of strawberries every single day in the summertime! Needless to say, I can de-stem strawberries at Olympic speed. The key to this is to use the tip of a teaspoon to scoop out the entire stem. Easy. (Try it sometime, you’ll never use a knife again.) Unfortunately, my fingertips were perpetually pink and irritated by all of that berry juice.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, the earliest of the local strawberries are just beginning to ripen. I saw the first pints at the grocery the other day, bought a few, and Voila! This cake appeared!
Fortunately it was near my oldest daughter’s Birthday! So I had to make a cake, didn’t I? This one seemed perfect, sort of a Strawberry Shortcake Cake. This recipe produces the most beautiful of cakes. The texture is light but it is firm enough to cut a beautiful slice. The white chocolate and cream cheese frosting provides a lovely canvas to highlight those outrageous strawberries. (I also think it would make a beautiful 4th of July Cake!)
This is a true vanilla cake. The flavor of the vanilla really comes through, so be sure to use real vanilla extract! I like it with a cream cheese-based frosting, but it is equally delicious with a basic vanilla buttercream or even chocolate if you are feeling more adventurous! Enjoy!
Vanilla Cake with Fresh Strawberries
Notes: for the oil, I used Sun Coco Oil, a mix of coconut and sunflower oils. For the frosting, I used my favorite White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 30m
- Cook Time: 35m
- Yield: 1-9" 2-layer cake
- Category: Cakes and Frostings, Desserts and Sweets, Good for crowd, Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 c Cake flour
- 1 c AP flour
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 c Sugar
- 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 c Sunflower or vegetable oil.
- 3 tbsp. Natural vanilla extract
- 3 Large eggs
- 1 1/2 c Buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour 2-9" cake pans. Add parchment paper to the pans, if desired. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can do this by hand with a wire whisk if desired) mix together the butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix until well-combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure each is thoroughly mixed before adding the next.
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in alternating measures, beginning with 1/3 of the dry mix, followed by half of the buttermilk. Then add another 1/3 of the dry mix followed by the remaining buttermilk then the rest of the dry mix. Be sure each measure is thoroughly mixed in before adding the next.
- Mix the batter until no lumps remain, being careful not to overmix. Pour into the 2 cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frost with your favorite frosting and layers of fresh strawberries. I use White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook
- Prep Time: 30m
- Yield: Enough frosting for 3-layer, 9-10" cake
- Category: Cakes and Frostings, Desserts and Sweets, Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 12 oz White chocolate (cocoa butter should be in the ingredient list), chopped
- 16 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp. Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
Instructions
- In a stainless steel bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt the chopped chocolate pieces. Be sure they are at least 2 inches from the water, so they do not burn. Stir frequently until just melted. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature. This doesn't take long, maybe 10-15 mins.
- Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, (or if you have the stamina feel free to use a hand mixer), and beat at medium speed for 5-6 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. You should beat until the butter feels light and fluffy when you stir it with a rubber spatula.
- Add the cream cheese and salt. Continue to beat for 5-6 more minutes, until frosting is again light and fluffy.
- Spoon in the lemon juice, mix to incorporate. Then add room temperature white chocolate. Beat 2-3 more minutes until the chocolate in well incorporated and frosting is spreadable. If you put the chocolate in before it is room temperature, the frosting will be too thin to spread. It may need to be refrigerated to thicken it up.
- If frosting is refrigerated before spreading, I would recommend refreshing it by returning it to the mixer for a minute or two. It will then be smoother and easy to spread.
Absolutely beautiful !
Thanks, Freda!