Fresh Strawberry Cake With Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe 455 Recipes

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Make the reduced strawberry puree and allow it to cool completely. See note. You can make it a few days ahead of time and store it covered in the refrigerator or cover and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw before using in the recipe.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch cake pans.
• Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk *just* until combined. Do not overmix. Whisk in 1/2 cup of reduced strawberry puree, making sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick. Stir in food coloring, if desired. (I use 1 small drop.)
• Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 24-25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
• Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup crumbs. Set aside. In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese for 1 minute on high speed until completely smooth and creamy. Beat in the butter until combined. Add the confectioners' sugar, strawberry powder, 1 Tablespoon milk, and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until combined and creamy. Add 1 more Tablespoon of milk to slightly thin out, if desired. Taste, then add a pinch of salt if needed. Yields about 3 cups of frosting.
• First, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake keep its shape when cutting- it could slightly fall apart without time in the fridge.
• Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH LEMON SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Slice the strawberries. You'll need 2 ½ cups roughly chopped for the sauce and the remaining to be diced for the cake.
• In a medium-sized saucepan, combine 2 ¼ cups sliced strawberries, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. I suggest lining the bottom with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and remaining sugar (2 ¼ cups). Beat on medium speed using the paddle attachment until the butter it is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed. This should take about 5 minutes.
• Add the egg whites, one at a time, ensuring that each one is well mixed before adding the next. Add the vanilla extract together with the last egg white.
• Use a food processor to grind the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder.
• In a medium-sized bowl, combine the powdered strawberries with the flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently whisk the ingredients together to combine.
• Next, slowly alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until all of the ingredients are just combined.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 ½ cups of strawberries with the remaining lemon juice (½ tablespoon). Stir to combine and then stir the strawberries into cake batter. At this time, you should also add the cooked strawberries as well. Turn the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure all of the ingredients are well combined.
• Bake at 350°F for 28-35 minutes. Test your cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, you cake is done. After 15-20 minutes, run a knife around the outside edge of the cake and gently remove from the pan. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Combine the sugar and egg whites in your stainless steel mixer bowl (or any heat proof bowl). Attached your candy thermometer to the side of the bowl.
• Set your bowl over top of a pot with water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. You do not want the water to boil and touch the bottom of your mixing bowl. Heat the water on medium to medium-low heat.
• Combine the sugar and egg whites and stir (using your greaseproof spatula) constantly until the mixture reaches 140° F. This is the most important part; you do not want to egg whites to cook. I have read that you can have it be anywhere between 120° F - 160° F. When it reaches 140° F, the sugar should be dissolved in the egg whites. You can test this by placing a drop on your fingertips and rubbing them together. The mixture should be completely smooth.
• Place the mixing bowl on your stand mixer. Using the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg whites. Start on low and increase the speed to medium after 2 minutes.
• Beat for another 3 minutes on medium. At this point, your frosting should have turned white as the egg whites are whipped and the body of the meringue starts to form.
• After 5 minutes, increase the speed to high. You will notice that as you increase the speed, the body of your meringue will also increase. It will start to look glossy as the peaks begin to form. Beat for another 5 minutes.
• After you have beat the meringue for a total of about 10 minutes, the bottom of your mixing bowl should be cooled completely. Your SMB should look kind of like whipped cream. Scrape down all sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Turn your mixer down to medium-low. Slowly add your butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time, ensuring it is mixed well after each addition. Once you have added all your butter. Mix for another minute and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and continue beating on medium to allow all the air bubbles to escape. In about 2-3 minutes the frosting is smooth. Lastly, fold in the lemon zest.

FRESH STRAWBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Beat eggs, 1 cup strawberry puree, melted butter, and milk until combined. Add to flour mixture; whisk until combined. Pour batter into the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Make the frosting while the cakes cool. Pour melted butter into a large bowl and sift in confectioners' sugar. Add enough pureed strawberries to make a spreadable frosting.
• Frost the cooled cakes and garnish with fresh strawberries and mint.

EASY STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Wash, clean, and hull the strawberries. Place them in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Pass it thru a sieve to remove seeds.
• Pour into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the strawberry puree has reduced to almost 1/3 of its original volume.Pro tip - Reducing the puree will concentrate the flavor with less liquid.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C / Gas Mark 3.
• Grease and line 2× 6-inch baking pans with parchment paper. You can also double this recipe to make 2 x 8-inch round cakes.Pro tip - I am baking in 2 pans, so I can torte in half to make four. But, you can also use 3 x 6-inch round pans to make 3 layers. That way you don't have to torte.
• Dry ingredients - Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt - set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated. Pro tip - Adding eggs one at a time will prevent the batter from curdling.
• Next, add the flour mixture, sour cream, and strawberry puree in three batches making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Then, add the vanilla and strawberry extract and combine well.Pro tip - Do not overmix at this stage as we do not want to activate the gluten in our flour.
• Pour the batter into the two prepared baking pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle rack or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Pro tip - It is a great idea to use cake strips around my baking pans to prevent a dome. That way you don't lose much height on your layer cakes.
• Once baked, leave in the pan for no more than 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Pro tip - Always frost cakes only when they are completely cooled. Otherwise, the frosting will melt.
• Watch my video on how to make Swiss meringue buttercream.
• Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer.Pro tip - Make sure the bowl is grease-free. Otherwise, the egg whites will not whip.
• Using a whisk, place the bowl over a double boiler and constantly whip until all the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are fairly warm (about 160 F).Pro tip - You don't need a thermometer, as long as all the sugar has completely melted your eggs are ready to use.
• Take the bowl off the heat and whip the egg whites until you have a thick meringue with stiff peaks.Pro tip - It is best to start whipping eggs at medium speed then increase speed as you go for the best meringue.
• Let the mixer continue to whip on medium-low speed until the mixer bowl feels cool to touch. Then, gradually add butter, one cube at a time, with the mixer at medium speed.Pro tip - It is VERY important that the meringue is cooled completely before you add the butter. Otherwise, you will have a soupy mess.
• Once all the butter is added, whip on medium-high for 2 minutes. Lastly, add the vanilla and strawberry extract. Combine well until everything is well combined.
• Watch this video showing how I level, torte, and fill the cakes.Pro tip - Make sure the cakes are completely cold. Otherwise, the frosting will melt. Plus, the cakes are more delicate to handle. Chilling the cakes makes them easier to work with.
• Using a bread knife or cake leveler, cut the domes off the cake layers. Then, divide each layer in half horizontally so you have four layers (2 x 2 = 4 layers).
• Brush each layer with the cooled simple syrup. Pro tip - To enhance the strawberry flavor you can add a few drops of strawberry extract or strawberry puree to simple syrup to make a strawberry syrup.
• Next, place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand. Top with a big dollop of buttercream - spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula.
• Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.Pro tip - Chilling the cake at this point will ensure the layers don't move when you frost the outside. Though, if you leave the cake uncovered in the fridge for too long it can dry out. So, 10 minutes is all you need.
• Spread the remaining buttercream around and the top of the cake.Pro tip - A straight-edge spatula for the top, an off-set spatula, and a bench scraper for the sides work better.
• Divide the remaining buttercream in two. Add pink gel food color to one half. Put both colors of buttercream in a piping bag with a star piping tip nozzle.
• Pipe swirls around and top of the cake. These swirls are exactly what you would do on a cupcake just smaller in size. Decorate as desired.
• Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees).
• Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir in strawberry jam with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth.