Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

A berry special cake

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

As we go into fall,here is a little reminder of the spring season with this strawberry cake. The base of the cake is a simple vanilla cake with a little kick of Jamaican White Rum. Strawberry Buttercream coats the exterior while vanilla buttercream layers the interior with diced strawberries. I decide to split the buttercream in half in order to make one vanilla with vanilla extract and the other strawberry with the strawberry coulis. The fruit provides a nice contrast to the heaviness of the cake and buttercream by adding a tart and fruity flavor profile.

Ingredients:

Vanilla Cake:

• 2 ¼ C. All Purpose Flour

• 2 ¼ tsp. Baking Powder

• ¾ tsp. Salt

• ¾ C. Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

• 1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

• 1 C. Buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature

Strawberry Coulis:

• 1 C. Frozen unsweetened strawberries

• ½ C. Sugar

• 1 T. Lemon Juice

Strawberry Buttercream:

• 5ea. (165g) Egg Whites

• 10oz. (285g) Granulated Sugar

• 1# (454g) Butter, Cubed

• 2 Tbsp Shot of Jamaican White Rum (Optional)

Diced Strawberries

• 8ea. Strawberries, Small Dice

Method

Vanilla Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 8” cake rounds and line with parchment.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined, set aside

3. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (about 3 min). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.

4. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.

5. Bake for 30-35 min. Or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.

6. Place Cakes on a wire rack to cool for 10 min. Then turn out onto the wire rack.

Strawberry Coulis:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Transfer to a blender.

2. Purée until smooth, strain, and set aside

3. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Strawberry Buttercream:

1. Cube butter

2. Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a water bath.

3. Mix together until sugar is dissolved.

4. Whip until mixture reaches medium peak and bowl is cooled on high speed.

5. Begin adding cubed butter, 4-5 pieces at a time.

6. Buttercream should be light and fluffy.

7. Add 2-5 tbsp of the Coulis. Add more if needed to adjust color and taste.

8. Add desired alcohol if applicable.

Diced Strawberries

1. Rinse off strawberries and take off tops

2. Slice strawberries and dice.

3. Place evenly on every layer.

4. Reserve some for top layer

Reflection:

The only real issue I had with this cake was with the storage of the buttercream. In storage, the emulsion in the buttercream broke, and it was difficult getting the buttercream back together, because it curdled like mixture. However with the help of our resident baker Tyra, I reheated the buttercream to a point where it was able to come back together. In another post, I will elaborate and explain how to fix a split buttercream.