Light and Fluffy Strawberry Cake

There’s nothing quite like the delicate sweetness of a light and fluffy strawberry cake, especially when it’s made with real strawberry purée. This cake is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor, giving it a natural sweetness. With its soft, tender crumb and luscious strawberry essence in every bite, it’s the perfect dessert for spring gatherings, summer celebrations, or simply indulging in a slice of homemade goodness. Whether you top it with a velvety strawberry frosting or a simple vanilla buttercream, this cake is sure to be a showstopper. Let’s dive into the recipe and bring this berry-filled delight to life!

New and Improved Strawberry Cake Recipe

Say hello to my new and improved strawberry cake—lighter, fluffier, and more delicious than ever! This upgraded recipe swaps freeze-dried strawberries for only fresh strawberry purée and the option of using strawberry emulsion or extract to amp up the flavor – both enhancing the natural berry flavor while keeping the crumb soft and airy. With a bit more sugar for balanced sweetness and buttermilk for extra moisture, every bite is tender and melt-in-your-mouth good. Unlike my old version, which was denser due to extra eggs and dried strawberries, this cake has a delicate texture that feels like a dream. Whether for a celebration or a simple treat, this strawberry cake is sure to impress!

Ingredients You Need for Strawberry Cake

• 2 pounds frozen or fresh strawberries
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion or extract, optional
• 4 whole eggs, room temperature
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 2/3 cup strawberry puree 
• 3 1/4 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• Pink food coloring, optional
• Additional butter and powdered sugar for the buttercream

Tips for Making a Moist Cake from Scratch

Don’t forget to follow my go-to tips for getting moist cakes that rise well:

• Preheat your oven for 30 minutes prior to baking.
• Use good quality pans like Fat Daddio.
• Spray your pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. 
• Make sure to beat the butter, sugar, oil and eggs really well. The mixture should be smooth in texture and nearly doubled in volume when you’re done mixing. THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT!
• Don’t overmix your cake batter once you add the dry ingredients.
• Use room temperature wet ingredients. Not cold at all.
• Use fresh baking powder and baking soda.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. REMEMBER: the cake continues to bake for a few minutes while it cools in the pan.

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Light and Fluffy Strawberry Cake

Flavorful and tender strawberry cake layers with strawberry buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Strawberry, Strawberry Buttercream, strawberry cake

Ingredients

For the Strawberry Puree

• 2 pounds strawberries, fresh or frozen

For the Cake

• 3 1/4 cups (373.7 g) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
• 3/4 cup (169.5 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (59 g) vegetable oil, or your preferred type – grapeseed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion or extract, optional
• 4 whole eggs, room temperature
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 2/3 cup (about 160 g) strawberry puree, instructions below
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
• Pink food coloring, optional

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 2 1/4 cups (508.5 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 7 1/2 cups (937.5 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
• 1/2 cup (119 g) strawberry puree, more if desired
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

For the Strawberry Puree

• In a medium size saucepan, heat the strawberries on medium heat. When the strawberries start to soften and juices release, use an immersion blender to puree the strawberries. You can also remove the strawberries from the pan and use a blender or food processor to puree them (be careful of the steam that gets trapped), and then put the puree back into the saucepan over low heat uncovered. We want the water to evaporate.
• Continue to cook the strawberry puree until it thickens and the water is reduced. This can take a while, so be patient and do this ahead of time. With frozen strawberries, mine took about 30 minutes to reduce. If needed, you can add a teaspoon of cornstarch to help move the process along and thicken the mixture.
• Put a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. Pour the strawberry puree into the fine mesh sieve. Let it sit for a few minutes. Don’t push the mixture through. This lets the remaining water, if any, filter out. I have a video on instagram that shows you the difference between the watery part of the puree and the thick puree.
• Scoop the puree that is still remaining in the sieve into a heat proof bowl. Measure 2/3 cup for the cake and save the remaining portion in the refrigerator for the buttercream.

For the Cake

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• With the mixer on medium-low speed add the vanilla, strawberry emulsion or extract (if using), and the eggs and egg whites. I like to add the eggs one or two at a time and then mixing the batter for a few seconds to let the ingredients get incorporated. It’s also good to turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions too.
• After the eggs are added, turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the cake batter for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
• Gradually add the strawberry puree and continue to mix for another minute or so.
• With the mixer on low, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
• Stir in 1 to 2 drops of pink food coloring, if desired.
• Evenly distribute the batter between the three pans, about 17-18 ounces in each. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
• Cool the cakes on cooling racks for about 15 minutes before inverting onto write racks to cool completely.

For the Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes. The butter should get lighter in color and fluffier in texture.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• With mixer on medium speed, add cooled strawberry puree, vanilla and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
• Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

The post Light and Fluffy Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Summer’s Cake

Summer is officially here and I can’t think of a better cake to take us into the season than this Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake! This cake is inspired by one of my favorite desserts Ryan’s parents make every summer. Based off Bon Appetit’s Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble, my new cake has tender white cake layers, a strawberry and rhubarb filling, a cinnamon oat crumble and a whipped vanilla bean buttercream.

Rhubarb Season

If you want to make this cake, this is the time to do it. Rhubarb is ripe and in stores now. When you’re buying your rhubarb, look for the brightest red pieces you can find. Of course, with any of my fruit filled cakes, if you can’t find fresh seasonal fruit, you can always use frozen fruit. If you do use frozen fruit, let the fruit thaw a bit and pat with a paper towel to remove some of the excess moisture.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake

The strawberry rhubarb crumble from Bon Appetit has been a favorite of mine for some time now. It’s a treat I look forward to every summer we visit Ryan’s parents. I actually first made a cake inspired by it a few years ago, using Tessa Huff’s recipe for her Riesling Rhubarb Crisp Cake. I loved her fruit filling and oat crisp, but wasn’t wowed by the Swiss meringue buttercream. But, if you know me, I never like SMB. It just lacks flavor and is always hit or miss if I make it right anyway. (Anyone in that boat with me?).

So for my version of this cake, I decided to use my whipped vanilla bean buttercream from my Peach Crisp Cake. Don’t skip adding the heavy whipping cream. This helps create a much lighter texture, similar to that of a SMB. I also love that this particular buttercream kind of tastes like vanilla bean ice cream – something we always serve on a warm crumble!

For the fillings, I slightly adapted Bon Appetit’s recipes to mimic their dessert the best I could. You’ll notice in the recipe that both filling recipes make quite a bit. I like making a lot of filling so I always have some to serve on the side with each slide of cake, just in case people want more (which they always do!).

And then for my cake layers, I used my classic white cake as a base and added vanilla bean paste. It’s light and tender and compliments all the flavors so well.

Stacking and Decorating

With this cake, because there is a soft filling, you want to take a couple extra steps when you stack and decorate.

• Use chilled cake layers
• Pipe a rim of frosting around each cake layer to act as a barrier to the filling
• Don’t use too much filling in the cake – reserve the rest to serve on the side
• Freeze the cake after it’s stacked, but before it’s crumb coated, to help stabilize the cake as you crumb coat
• Freeze the cake again, after the crumb coat, to set the frosting and filling a bit more

Can’t wait for you to try this one!

Here’s to a great summer!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake

Tender white cake layers with a strawberry rhubarb filling, cinnamon oat crumble and whipped vanilla bean buttercream. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Rhubarb, Strawberry, Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

Prep Time 3 hours hours

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 5 hours hours

Author Courtney Rich

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 4 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 whole egg, at room temperature
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (12.6 g) vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 12 tablespoons (169.5 g) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into cubes

FOR THE COMPOTE (adapted from Bon Appetit)

• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla bean paste
• 1 pound strawberries, hulled, halved (about 4 cups)
• 12 ounces rhubarb, preferably bright red, ends trimmed, stalks cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
• 1/3 cup (66.6 g) sugar

FOR THE CRUMBLE (adapted from Bon Appetit)

• 3/4 cup (90 g) all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup (133.3 g) sugar
• pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons (84.75 g) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2/3 cup (60 g) old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (75 g) almonds toasted, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon (.65 g) cinnamon

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 tablespoon (4.2 g) vanilla bean paste
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray three 8-inch round with nonstick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside. 
• In a medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg whites, whole egg, and the vanilla. Set aside.
• In a bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients together on low speed for 30 seconds.
• Add the butter one piece at a time, about every 10 seconds. Once all the butter is added, pour in the buttermilk and mix on low for about 1 minute, until the ingredients are incorporated.
• Scrape down the sides of bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 3 separate batches, mixing on miedum-low until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Fold once or twice to ensure the batter at the bottom of the bowl is incorporated and mix for another 20 to 30 seconds.
• Using a kitchen scale, divide batter evenly among your pans (about 15 to 16 ounces of batter in each of the three 8-inch pans), spreading evenly with a small offset palette knife.
• Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Check cake around 23 to 25 minutes and then set the timer for 2 to 3 minute intervals if the cake needs to bake longer. You're looking for a few moist crumbs to come out on the toothpick when inserted into the center of the cake.
• Let the cake layers cool on racks for 10 minutes before inverting onto greased wire racks. Gently turn the cakes back up so the tops are up and cool completely.
• Once the cakes are cooled completely, level the tops if needed.
• Wrap each cake layer with plastic wrap and chill in freezer for at least an hour before using. The cake layers can be stored for up to a few days wrapped once in plastic wrap and frozen. To store longer than a few days, wrap twice in plastic wrap, then in foil, and seal in a zip-lock bag.

FOR THE COMPOTE

• In a medium size saucepan, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and vanilla bean paste over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
• Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender.
• Let cool completely before using in the cake. Can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

FOR THE CRUMBLE

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to blend.
• Add the cubes of butter and rub in with your fingertips. The mixture will stick together like clumps. Mix in the oats and nuts. 
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring the crumble halfway through. Let cool completely before using in the cake. 

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar, followed by the heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract and dash of salt.
• Continue to beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.    
• Before frosting your cake, mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

ASSEMBLY

• Place the first cake layer, top side up, on a cake board or cake plate. Using an offset icing spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting over the cake layer. This creates a barrier between the cake and fruit filling so the cake doesn't become soggy. 
• Pipe a rim of frosting around the edge of the cake layer. This will help support the cake layers and prevent the fruit filling from spilling out. (You may even need to pipe a second time over the first rim you made – refer to the video above).
• Spread about 1/2 cup of the fruit filling on the cake layer. 
• Sprinkle about half of the crumble over the fruit filling.
• Gently place the second cake layer on top of the filling and crumble and repeat steps 3 to 4.
• Place the final cake layer top side down on the second layer of filling. 
• Freeze the cake for about 10 minutes to help set the frosting and filling, making it a bit more stable for when you frost. If the cake still feels wobbly, add a dowel to the center of the cake (or you can even use drinking straws for this).
• After the filling is set, use a small amount of frosting to apply a crumb coat around the entire cake. Freeze the cake again for another 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
• After the crumbs are locked in, continue to frost and decorate the cake.

Notes

*This amount of filling will make more than enough for the inside of the cake. To make sure the cake is stable as you stack and frost, only add about 1/2 cup of the filling in between the layers. Serve an additional scoop of the filling and crumble with each slice of cake.

The post Light and Fluffy Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

My Strawberry Shortcake Cake is one of my most popular cakes and is the perfect dessert to make for Mother’s Day next month.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

My Strawberry Shortcake Cake is made up of tender and fluffy vanilla cake layers, filled with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries, and then covered it in a strawberry buttercream. This really is the perfect shortcake for the season!

I went a little untraditional with the addition of the strawberry buttercream, but I think it was a risk well worth it! The flavor is light and awesome!

To start, the cake layers for this one come from my Classic Vanilla Cake. Remember, with a tender, fluffy vanilla cake, it’s easy to over bake the layers and therefore get a dry cake. Here’s what I do in my Strawberry Shortcake recipe to make sure that doesn’t happen:

• First reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Next add sour cream to increase fat in the batter, which helps create and maintain moisture.
• Use room temperature ingredients.
• Keep your eye on the shortcakes as they bake. Don’t forget to use a toothpick to check when they’re done. When you insert the toothpick in the center of the cake, it should come out with a few moist crumbs on it.
• Don’t over mix the cake batter.

Homemade Whipped Cream Filling

After starting the layers, I move on to the filling. The whipped cream filling is simply stabilized whipped cream. I’ve used it in several recipes, and I have a full tutorial on IGTV that you can watch HERE to help you make the recipe below. A few dollops of this cream will send your bake over the top!

Most importantly, I add gelatin to this Strawberry Shortcake recipe because the gelatin is what helps stabilize the whipped cream. You can also use EZ Gel. This helps it hold up better between cake layers. However, it can sometimes be tricky to use. The key to making sure you don’t get clumps in your whipped cream filling is to not let the gelatin mixture cool too long in the fridge. Above all, you don’t want the gelatin to set too much as it cools and you also don’t want it to be too warm. If it is the wrong temperature when you add it to your whipped cream, the whipped cream will soften.

Strawberry Buttercream

To top this shortcake off, I add a delicious strawberry buttercream, made with a little strawberry jam and freeze-dried strawberries.

The flavor is out of this world delish.

Assembling the Strawberry Shortcake

You want to be sure your cake is staked properly, so take a look at the tips below to refresh your memory.

Enjoy!

More Recipes You’ll Enjoy

• The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake
• Strawberry Cake
• Fun & Easy Patriotic-Inspired Cakes
• Top 5 Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cakes
• Delicious and Easy Biscoff Strawberry Cake

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Strawberry Shortcake

Tender and fluffy vanilla cake layers with a whipped cream filling, fresh strawberries and strawberry buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Strawberry Buttercream, Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble, Strawberry Shortcake, Whipped Cream

Servings 20 people

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (340 g) cake flour
• 1 tbsp. (10 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp. (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. (8 g) clear vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, at room temperature

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

• 2 cups (462 g) heavy whipping cream, cold
• 3 tbsp. (44.3 g) water, cold
• 1 tbsp. (9.25 g) unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup (62.5 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 tsp. (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• Diced fresh strawberries

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 1 1/2 cups (327 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
• 1/4 cup (40 g) freeze dried strawberries, pulverized
• 1/3 cup (76 g) heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. strawberry jam
• 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and then line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar for two minutes on medium-high speed.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg whites on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between addition. Once all of the egg whites are added, mix for about 1 to 2 minutes on medium speed.
• Add vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
• With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 cup of the buttermilk. Repeat the additions, 1/3 cup flour mixture, 1/2 cup buttermilk and the final 1/3 cup flour mixture. Only mix until the flour mixture is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for another 20 to 30 seconds on low.

  Fold in the sour cream.
• Pour about 18 ounces of cake batter into each of the three 8-inch cake pans or 13 ounces in each of the 6-inch pans and bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. (Tip: spray your wire cooling racks with nonstick spray).

FOR THE FILLING

• In a small bowl, place the cold water and sprinkle with the gelatin. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring 1/3 cup heavy cream to a simmer and then stir in the gelatin mixture. Refrigerate, stirring frequently, until cool but not set, about 5-7 minutes.
• In a chilled stainless steel bowl with a chilled whisk attachment, beat the remaining whipping cream, icing sugar, and vanilla until it thickens and soft peaks begin to form, about 1 to 2 minutes. Very gradually add the gelatin mixture and continue beating until medium-firm peaks form.
• Keep covered and chilled until ready to use.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• Add the freeze dried strawberries and the strawberry jam.
• With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream and vanilla.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.

ASSEMBLY

• Spread a small dollop of frosting on your cake board. This will act like glue to hold your cake in place.
• Place your first cake layer, top side up, on your cake board. Pipe a rim of strawberry buttercream around the edge of the cake.
• Spread about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream filling over the cake. Placed diced strawberries on the whipped cream and pat into place with your hand. Spread another 1/2 cup of the whipped cream filling over the strawberries.
• Place the next cake layer on top of the filling and repeat steps 2 and 3.
• Set your final cake layer, top side down, on your second layer of filling. Apply a thin crumb coat over your entire cake. This does not need to look pretty or be even. This coat of frosting is simply to lock in the crumbs. Freeze your cake for about 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
• After the crumb coat is set, finish frosting your cake with the strawberry buttercream

The post Light and Fluffy Strawberry Shortcake Cake with Strawberry Buttercream first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Light and Fluffy Strawberry Cheesecake Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream

The idea for my new Strawberry Cheesecake Cake actually came from having strawberry cheesecake ice cream on a recent road trip with my sister and her two boys. I love the flavors of the fresh strawberries with graham cracker and a hint of tangy cream cheese.

I just knew it would make for a delicious cake!

For this cake, we’re four elements:

• Graham cracker crust
• Strawberry Cake
• No-bake cheesecake filling
• Strawberry cream cheese buttercream

How to Make Graham Cracker Crust

I love a crunchy element in my cakes and this graham cracker crust adds a delicious crunch and flavor. To make it, you’ll simply combine the graham cracker crumbs with butter and sugar.

Before adding any cake batter to your cake pans, you’ll actually bake the crumbs first. Divide the crust evenly between the three pans and then firmly press the crumbs into place to create a crust. Baking the crust on it’s own for a few minutes will help achieve a little crunch with each bite.

Homemade Strawberry Cake Recipe

This strawberry cake is light and fluffy and full of flavor, thanks to a combination of strawberry puree and strawberry extract (or emulsion)

What’s the difference between an extract and emulsion?

An extract is an alcohol based flavoring and an emulsion is water based. Both are used to add flavor and can be used interchangeably.

Don’t forget to follow my go-to tips for getting your cakes to rise and bake well:

• Preheat your oven for 30 minutes prior to baking.
• Use good quality pans like Fat Daddio.
• Spray your pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. 
• Don’t overmix your cake batter once you add the dry ingredients.
• Use room temperature wet ingredients.
• Use fresh baking powder.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.

No-Bake Cheesecake Filling

To make the no-bake cheesecake filling, whip the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks and then set aside while you mix the cream cheese and sugar together. Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, you’ll then fold in the whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream

For the buttercream, we’re adding a little more of the cream cheese flavor with the strawberry flavor. I love how the tang of the cream cheese complements the sweet strawberry flavor. You’ll also find this recipe in my Strawberry Lemonade Cake.

More strawberry cakes to love

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Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Strawberry Buttercream, strawberry cake, Strawberry Cheesecake Cake, strawberry cream cheese buttercream

Ingredients

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

• 25 (380 g) graham crackers full rectangle cracker
• 3/4 cup (165 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE

• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup (72.6 g) vegetable or canola oil
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) strawberry extract or emulsion
• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
• 3/4 cup (175 g) strawberry puree reduction about 3 cups chopped strawberries, pureed and simmered over the stove to thicken and reduce to 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk, room temperature
• Pink food coloring, optional

FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 g) heavy whipping cream

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
• 6 oz. (170 g) cream cheese, slightly cold
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) strawberry emulsion
• 3 tablespoons (42 g) heavy whipping cream
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment, and spray again. Set aside.
• In a food processor or blender combine the graham cracker, sugar and melted butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.
• Divide the crumbs between the three pans (about 7 ounces in each). Pat firmly into place.
• Bake the crusts for 5 minutes.

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter for about 2 minutes. Add the oil and beat for another 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Add the vanilla and strawberry extract or emulsion.
• With the mixer on low, alternatively add the flour mixture with the strawberry puree and buttermilk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
• Evenly divide the batter between the three pans, about 17 ounces in each.
• Bake the cake layers for about 33 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.

FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING

• In a medium size mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• In a chilled stainless steel bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
• Fold in the heavy whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the strawberry emulsion, cream, and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes.
• Before frosting your cake, mix the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out any air pockets. If the frosting feels too soft to frost or pipe, cover it and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes.

Assembly

• Place the first cake layer, top side up, in the center of a cake board or cake stand. Pipe a rim of buttercream around the top edge of the cake.
• Fill the center area with half of the cheesecake mixture. Layer on sliced strawberries.
• Place the second cake layer, top side up, on the filling and repeat step 2.
• Place the final cake layer, also top side up, and apply a thin layer of buttercream around the entire cake. This should look like a semi-naked cake. Freeze the crumb-coated cake for about 10 to minutes.
• Continue frosting and decorating the cake with the remaining buttercream.

The post Light and Fluffy Strawberry Cheesecake Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Confetti Cookie Dough Cake

Get ready to party with my new Confetti Cookie Dough Cake! I actually made this cake for Mother’s Day, but to be honest, it turned out to be the perfect cake for a birthday. I mean, look how fun and cute this one is! The flavors and the look scream, “Happy Birthday!”

Here’s what we love about this cake:

• Tender and moist confetti cake layers
• The most delicious homemade whipped cream
• An entire layer of edible cookie dough
• Silky-smooth strawberry buttercream

Yes, there’s a lot going on, but I promise you – everything in this cake works so well together! The lightness of the whipped cream pairs beautifully with the dense cookie dough. Then, the strawberry buttercream adds a delicious finishing touch without taking away from the cake or the fillings.

How to Bake Moist Cake from Scratch

To ensure your cake layers come out perfectly moist, be sure to look through THIS blog post for all my tips for baking moist cake layers.

Edible Cookie Dough

What makes the cookie dough edible is cooking the flour first to kill any bacteria. To do this, you’ll evenly spread the flour over a baking sheet and bake it for about 10 minutes at 300 degrees F. Keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t brown. Allow the flour to cool to room temperature before using it in the cookie dough. We also omit the eggs from a traditional cookie dough recipe.

Strawberry Buttercream

This buttercream is a little different than other strawberry buttercream recipes on my blog because I’m only using fresh strawberries to make a puree. In the past, I’ve used strawberry emulsion in my Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake and a combination of freeze dried strawberries and strawberry jam in my Strawberries and Cream Cake.

In my Confetti Cookie Dough Cake, this silky-smooth strawberry buttercream is the perfect balance to the slightly more dense chocolate chip cookie dough filling.

NOTE: take a look at the recipe and be sure to make the strawberry puree ahead of time so it has time to cool and chill.

More Strawberry Cakes to Love

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Confetti Cookie Dough Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

Tender and fluffy confetti cake layers with layers of whipped cream, chocolate chip cookie dough and silky-smooth strawberry buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Confetti Cake, Confetti Cookie Dough Cake, cookie dough, Edible Cookie Dough, Strawberry Buttercream

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (72.6 g) vegetable oil
• 3 large whole eggs, at room temperature
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (12 g) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk room temperature
• 1/4 cup (60 g) sour cream, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (40 g) rainbow sprinkles

For the Whipped Cream

• 1 cup (240 g) heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1/2 cup (62.5 g) powdered sugar, measured then sifted
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla extract

For the Cookie Dough

• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (55 g) brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (80 g) mini chocolate chips

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 3 cups (600 g) strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 1/4 cups (508.5 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 7 1/2 cups (937.5 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
• 1 teaspoons (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake and do the piping I included above.

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom parchment paper, and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and oil on medium-high until fluffy and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs and the egg whites, one at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl along the way. Turn the mixer to medium-high and continue to beat for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.
• Turn the mixer on low and add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Then add half of the buttermilk, followed by another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the second half of the buttermilk and lastly, add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
• Fold in the sour cream, followed by the sprinkles.
• Evenly distribute the cake batter among the two cake pans (about 24 ounces in each) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
• Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.
• When cakes are completely cooled, divide each cake in half horizontally, so you have four layers. You can then wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap to freeze until you’re ready to decorate.

For the Whipped Cream

• In a chilled stainless steel bowl, using a whisk attachment, beat the ingredients on high until stiff peaks form.

For the Cookie Dough

• IMPORTANT: What makes the cookie dough edible is cooking the flour first to kill any bacteria. To do this, you’ll evenly spread the flour over a baking sheet and bake it for about 10 minutes at 300 degrees F. Keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t brown. Allow the flour to cool to room temperature before using it in the cookie dough.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
• Slowly add in the flour and salt and mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
• Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
• Set aside 2/3 of the dough for the cake filling and use the remaining 1/3 to roll into small balls for the topping. Roll the 2/3 cookie dough into an 8” circle so it’s easy to add between the layers of the cake.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• THE PUREE FOR THE BUTTERCREAM IS BEST DONE AHEAD OF TIME.
• Place the strawberries in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes. Allow the strawberries to soften, making sure to use a fork or potato masher to press down on the strawberries to release the juices.
• Once the strawberries are soft and the juices are bubbling, use an immersion blender to create a puree.
• Continue to cook the puree on low heat to reduce the water content, about 5 minutes.
• Once the mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon, remove from heat.
• Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the puree to remove seeds. This should make about 1/3 cup puree once you've cooked the water out and strained it.
• Allow the puree to cool completely before using in the buttercream. This can be done by placing the puree in the refrigerator for a few hours, or even overnight.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• With mixer on medium speed, add cooled strawberry puree, vanilla and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
• Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

ASSEMBLY

• Place the first cake layer, top side up, on a cake board or cake stand. Pipe a rim of strawberry buttercream around the edge of the cake.
• Evenly spread half of the whipped cream over the cake layer.
• Top with a second cake layer and then place the rolled out cookie dough on top of the cake.
• Top the cookie dough with a third cake layer, pipe a rim of buttercream around the edge, and fill with the remaining whipped cream.
• Place the final cake layer, top side down, on the whipped cream.
• Apply a thin coat of buttercream around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
• After the crumb coat is set, continue frosting and decorating the cake. For the piping design, I used the Wilton 1m tip.

The post Confetti Cookie Dough Cake with Strawberry Buttercream first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake

I’m so excited to share this Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake with you! With light and fluffy banana cake layers, strawberry cream filling, fresh strawberries and bananas, and a whipped vanilla buttercream, this cake will make you feel like you’re sitting at an old-fashioned soda bar, sipping and strawberry banana milkshake!

Banana Cake

These light and fluffy banana cake layers are based off my Confetti Cake layers. I decided to go with a more subtle banana flavor, compared to a traditional banana cake (i.e. banana bread type flavor). I think you’ll love the lightness of these layers and still appreciate the banana flavor.

Banana Flavoring

To add flavor, I used instant banana pudding. If this isn’t something you can find, you can use a teaspoon of banana emulsion.

Strawberry Cream Filling

For the filling, I used the whipped raspberry filling from my Chocolate Raspberry Swiss Roll and subbed freeze dried strawberries for the raspberries. You are going to LOVE how easy this filling is to make. Just grab your blender or food processor, add the freeze dried fruit, then the heavy whipping cream (as much fat as you can find) and the granulated sugar. Pulse for a few minutes and you’ll have a thick and creamy filling. Best part – it’s stable enough to hold the cake layers!

Garnish and Filling Add-Ins

In addition to the strawberry cream filling in this Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake, I added fresh strawberries and banana chips. I love that the banana chips hold their crunch after the cake has been frozen or sitting out a bit. I also think fresh bananas would be delicious between the layers with the strawberry slices. Just remember, though – only use fresh bananas if you’re making the cake the same day as when you serve it. Fresh bananas won’t hold up well in the freezer, if you plan to store the cake.

Vanilla Buttercream

To top this cake off, I decided to go with my vanilla buttercream, a.k.a The Best Vanilla Buttercream. This buttercream frosting is light and fluffy and doesn’t overwhelm any of the other flavors. It’s almost like adding the ice cream element to these milkshake flavors.

I then used Americolor food gel Soft Pink and Egg Yellow. Just a tad of each!

How to Make Buttercream Frosting

To get a light and fluffy homemade buttercream frosting, I have a detailed post: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERCREAM to give you in depth instruction for making your buttercream unreal! Here’s an overview with a quick picture tutorial for making the best vanilla buttercream:

• Sift your powdered sugar
• Use slightly cold butter and mix on its own for 2 to 3 minutes
• Use heavy whipping cream
• Beat for 5 minutes
• Stir by hand

How to Cake It: How to Make Buttercream Stripes

To create the thin stripes, I used my striped scraper from Shop Cake by Courtney. I’ve written out a tutorial for stripes HERE, so make sure to check it out for all of my trips and tricks for creating this darling design.

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Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake

Light and fluffy banana cake layers with strawberry cream filling and vanilla buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Banana Cake, strawberry banana milkshake cake, strawberry filling, Vanilla Buttercream

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 1 pkg (3 oz) instant banana pudding mix
• 1/3 cup (72.6 g) vegetable oil
• 3 large whole eggs room temperature
• 3 large egg whites room temperature
• 1/4 cup (60 g) sour cream room temperature
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) vanilla extract

FOR THE WHIPPED VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter chilled (I take the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before I make my frosting)
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
• 1/4 cup (60 g) heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) clear vanilla extract
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING

• 1/2 cup (15 g) freeze dried strawberries
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (455 g) heavy whipping cream

GARNISH

• Banana chips or fresh banana slices
• Strawberry slices

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, and another coat of spray. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, sugar and pudding mix on high until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs and the egg whites, one at a time to the bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated. Add the sour cream and beat on medium speed for a minute or so. It may look curdled, don't stress.
• Turn the mixer on low and add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Then add half of the buttermilk and blend well, followed by another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the second half of the buttermilk and lastly, add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
• Add the vanilla extract and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
• Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three 8-inch or four 6-inch pans and bake for 23 to 28 minutes, until toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
• Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.
• When cakes are completely cooled, I like to wrap each cake layer individually with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator or freezer until I’m ready to frost. The cake will be easier to work with if it’s cooled a bit. If I’m making the cake a day or two before I actually need to frost it, I put it in the freezer to ensure freshness. If I’m frosting same-day, I’ll just put it in the refrigerator to chill until needed.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, vanilla and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.
• Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

FOR THE FILLING

• In a food processor, pulse the freeze dried strawberries until they resemble a powder.
• Add the sugar and the cream and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to incorporate the freeze dried fruit.
• Pulse the mixer for about 1 to 2 minutes. The texture should resemble Greek yogurt.

  Keep chilled until ready to use.

ASSEMBLY

• Place the first cake layer, top side up. Spread 1 cup of the strawberry filling over the cake layer as evenly as possible. Make sure to get eye level with the cake to ensure the frosting is spread evenly over the cake. Place sliced strawberries on top. If using banana slices or banana chips, also evenly lay them on the filling next to the sliced strawberries.
• Repeat these step until you get to the final cake layer, which you will lay top side down.
• Apply a thin coat of buttercream around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
• After the crumb coat is set, continue frosting and decorating the cake.

The post The Most Delicious Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Jelly Donut Bundt Cake

Friends, you are going to love how easy and how delicious this Jelly Donut Bundt Cake is to make! We’re taking my classic vanilla cake, adding a fruit swirl, a fruit sugar coating, and baking it in a bundt pan. I love this vanilla cake so much. It’s light and fluffy, moist, and full of flavor.

How to Bake Moist Cakes From Scratch

It’s probably one of the most frequently asked questions in baking. How do I bake moist cakes from scratch?

It seems like it would be simple, right? Follow a recipe and get a moist cake. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy. Sometimes, we are unaware of how certain substitutions, incorrect measuring, mixing speeds, etc, can affect our cakes.

So let’s review what helps create moist cakes.

How to Bake Moist Cakes From Scratch

Ingredients

• Use real butter: I’m usually not very picky about what brand of butter you use in a cake. But, using butter, not margarine is hugely important and impactful on the texture of your cake. Did you know margarine has more water content than butter. It’s also made from plant oils, whereas, butter is made from dairy and rich in saturated fats. That fat helps create moisture in our cakes. So when you’re at the store, make sure you reach for butter (I always use unsalted), not margarine.
• Measure dry ingredients correctly: The most accurate way to measure dry ingredients is with a scale. However, if you don’t have a scale, the next most accurate way to measure flour is as follows: fluff the flour with a spoon, lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and carefully level it off with a knife. If you measure incorrectly, you’ll end up with too much flour, which can cause your cake to taste dry and dense.
• Add fat: make sure you’re adding some kind of fat to your cake batter. Fat creates and retains moisture in our cake layers. If I’m using all egg whites in a cake recipe, like this one, I make sure to add sour cream for fat. This helps to create a moist crumb.

Tools and Baking

• Bake at 325 degrees F and keep an eye on the cake: I know this may sound obvious to some, but it’s worth going over because it’s an easy fix. If your cakes are coming out dry, it could be that you’re over baking them. Remember, when you insert a toothpick into the center of your cake to check “doneness,” you want the toothpick to come out with a few moist crumbs on it. Your cake layers continue to bake for a few minutes as they cool in the cake pans. Another alternative to making sure you bake moist cakes from scratch is turning down your oven temperature. I now bake all my cakes at 325 degrees F.
• Use good quality cake pans that are light metal: using good quality cake pans can enhance how your cakes bake – both in height and texture. If you’re using dark colored pans, you’re likely going to get dark, dry edges because a dark pan heats up quicker as your cake is baking. I always suggest using Fat Daddio pans. This brand specializes in making light colored pans that distribute heat evenly.
• Mix on low speed: Did you know that over-mixing your cake batter can create a dry, dense cake that doesn’t rise? Sure does! When you add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, mix on low just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl. Then mix again for another 20 to 30 seconds.
• Serve your cake at room temperature: Yes, I said it. And I know it’s controversial. I know many of you like cold cake, and if you do, then keep eating cold cake and enjoy! However, if you’re serving your cake cold, just remember that the texture of the cake layers and buttercream will be different than when you serve cake at room temperature. I think sometimes we associate cold cake with dry cake, when in fact, the cake isn’t actually dry and just needs to be left at room temperature for a little longer.
• Store cake in the freezer not the fridge: One of the reasons your cake may end up dry is due to how you store the cake if you’re not serving it right away. Storing your cake in the fridge for a night is definitely ok. Just make sure it’s covered really well (i.e. in a cake carrier or box), so that the air doesn’t dry it out. If you need to store your cake for longer than a night, the freezer is a better option. You can head HERE to read my blog post about freezing, thawing and transporting your cakes.

Can I use a different fruit flavor?

Absolutely! I used my favorite raspberry preserves to to fill this cake. However, you can use any fruit jam/preserves of your liking. You can even mixing up the fruit and sugar coating. I did raspberry jam and freeze dried raspberries, but feel free to mix it up.

Pro Tips for Mixing Cake Batter

When you’re making the cake batter, don’t forget these important tips to ensure your texture is light and fluffy and the cake rises well:

• Use room temperature ingredients – room temperature ingredients will mix better together and are better absorbed by the dry ingredients, which helps your cake to rise better.
• Beat the butter and sugar together for a few minutes – we want the texture to become light and fluffy. And then, when you add the eggs, add them one at a time, making sure to mix well between each addition.
• Mix on low speed once you add the dry ingredients – as mentioned above, this ensures you don’t overbeat the batter, which can cause it to not rise and taste dry.

More Bundt Cakes to Love

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Jelly Donut Bundt Cake

Tender and flavorful vanilla bundt cake with raspberry swirl and a freeze dried raspberry and sugar coating.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Cake recipe, Jelly Donut Bundt Cake, raspberry, Vanilla Bundt Cake, Vanilla CAke

Servings 20 people

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tbsp. (13 g) vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 1 tbsp. (10 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp. (5 g) salt
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature

FOR THE SUGAR COATING

• 2 ounces (57 g) freeze dried raspberries
• 1/2 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons (56.5 g) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling

• 1/2 cup (144 g) raspberry jam

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10-cup or larger bundt pan with nonstick spray and dust with sugar to cover the pan. Set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed. The mixture should be light and fluffy in texture.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg whites on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between addition, continue beating on medium-high speed until the texture is smooth and the volume is nearly doubled, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
• With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 cup of the buttermilk. Repeat the additions, 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 cup buttermilk and the final 1/3 flour mixture. Only mix until the flour mixture is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for another 20 to 30 seconds on low. Fold in the sour cream.
• Pour half of the batter in the bundt pan. Carefully dollop the raspberry jam on the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top of the jam. Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes. (Mine took 55 minutes).
• Remove from oven and let cool completely in the bundt pan before removing.

FOR THE Sugar coating

• Using a food processor of blender, pulse the freeze dried raspberries to a powder.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sugar and the raspberry powder.
• Using a pastry brush, coat the cake with butter and then cover with the sugar mixture.

The post The Most Delicious Jelly Donut Bundt Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

It is strawberry season and we all know what that means! We need to bake as many strawberry-flavored cakes as possible! Or at least a few so we can soak up all the best flavors that strawberries give us when they are in their peak season. So, to help us get into the spirit of strawberry-themed desserts, I thought I’d share with you the best strawberry buttercream frosting for cake. I know you’ll love it!

There are a few tricks to getting this strawberry buttercream frosting recipe just right for your cakes, and I go over those throughout this post. But I’ll just tell you right now that one of the best things you can do when making the strawberry buttercream is to beat it on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes after all the ingredients are added. This will help to really blend all of the ingredients which will lighten the texture of the buttercream so it’s not too dense. 

The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe

I have used my strawberry buttercream frosting recipe on several different cakes, and I must say it gives a delicious finishing touch to each one. I love adding strawberry jam (rather than strawberry emulsion or something similar) to the buttercream because it gives that authentic strawberry flavor you want to taste in the buttercream. 

To make the strawberry buttercream frosting, you will need:

• 1 1/2 cups (327 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
• ¼ cup (40 g) freeze-dried strawberries, pulverized
• 1/3 cup (76 g) heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. strawberry jam
• 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Side note: This recipe makes enough to fill and cover a cake, so if you want to pipe your cake, you will need to make an extra ½ batch. 

You will first cream your butter for about 2 minutes in a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. This will help soften your butter without it having to be warm. Next, add your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time while your mixer is on low speed. Make sure to mix it a little in between each cup of powdered sugar.

Next, add the freeze-dried strawberries and the strawberry jam. Once mixed in, add your whipping cream and vanilla while your mixer is on medium speed. Turn your mixer on medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5-7 minutes. The strawberry buttercream frosting is ready once it becomes lighter in color and texture. 

Another thing to take note of is that freeze-dried strawberries tend to thicken the buttercream. To help offset this, I reduced the amount of powdered sugar and added more heavy whipping cream used in the recipe. If you find your buttercream to still be too thick, I recommend adding more heavy cream and beating it a little longer. 

The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cakes

I thought I’d showcase three of my strawberry buttercream frosted cakes just to give you some ideas on how you could use this buttercream on your own cakes. These are some of my absolute favorites! And even my husband is a fan when he normally isn’t one who prefers a cake with fruit in it. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cake #1: Biscoff Strawberry Cake

My Biscoff Strawberry Cake is inspired by an ice cream flavor at Rockwell Ice Cream in Utah. It features Biscoff cake layers, Biscoff filling and cookies, strawberry buttercream, and fresh strawberries. Biscoff somehow pairs so well with so many flavors and strawberry is definitely one of them!

Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cake #2: Strawberries and Cream Cake

This Strawberries and Cream Cake has quite the natural strawberry flavor, thanks to the freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry puree reduction. This cake also features a whipped cream filling that I stabilized with gelatin. I think you’ll have a lot of fun with this one! And, I have to say I made this cake in celebration of the Steel Magnolias movie, which you can read more about in the original post for this cake!

Strawberry Buttercream Frosted Cake #3: Light and Fluffy Strawberry Shortcake

My Strawberry Shortcake is exactly what you hope it would be! It’s made up of the most tender and fluffy vanilla cake layers, filled with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries, and covered in strawberry buttercream. I know strawberry buttercream isn’t typically included with a strawberry shortcake, but I think it was a risk well worth it! The buttercream is super light just like the cake!

The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake

I can’t wait for you to try the best strawberry buttercream frosting for cake. Which one of my cakes on this list convinced you to try it? Now is the time to try out these recipes while the strawberries are in season! I hope you enjoy baking your strawberry dessert and especially making and tasting your strawberry buttercream frosting! For more tips and recipes on all things cake, you can follow me on Instagram @cakebycourtney.     

Similar Recipes You’ll Enjoy

• Light and Fluffy Strawberry Shortcake Cake with Strawberry Buttercream
• Strawberry Cake
• Fun & Easy Patriotic-Inspired Cakes
• Delicious and Easy Biscoff Strawberry Cake
• The Best Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

The post The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

I have quite a few strawberry cake recipes that I absolutely love! Chocolate and strawberry are usually my go-to flavors whenever I’m picking out a dessert to try. Needless to say, I had fun reminiscing on all of these cakes as I put together this list of my top 5 favorite strawberry birthday cakes for you. I tried to keep a good variety for all of the strawberry cake lovers! There are some that celebrate more of the tart side and then some that focus on the sweeter side of strawberries. I know you’ll find one or two that you’ll love!

One of the best things about strawberries is how many things you can pair them with. It can really make the perfect match with sweet or salty, so the options are almost endless! I loved creating all of these different strawberry birthday cake recipes, and especially loved eating them! I hope you and yours enjoy them as much as I have. 

Top 5 Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cakes

Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cake #1: Strawberry Cake

First up is my classic Strawberry Cake. I got the inspiration for this Strawberry Cake from the Cake Bar in Dallas. I went there with my brother when I was in town and I was blown away by it! The flavor and the moist cake layers were just unreal. I knew it was a recipe I would have to recreate, so I hope you enjoy my version of this Strawberry Cake. This would be a great birthday cake for those who love cream cheese frosting too! 

Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cake #2: Sweet and Salty Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake

This Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake is heaven for sweet and salty lovers! This cake features yellow cake layers, strawberry buttercream, and a strawberry and pretzel crunch filling. If you’ve ever had the traditional Christmas strawberry pretzel salad, this is basically that in cake form! It is so delicious and has the perfect flavor and texture combination you’d want in a cake. 

Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cake #3: Strawberry Lemonade Cake

This Strawberry Lemonade Cake is a fun one! This would especially be a good strawberry birthday cake for those who celebrate birthdays in the spring or summer. This cake features a sweet and tart lemon curd filling–perfect for a strawberry lemonade cake, right? I just love the punch tart brings to any cake without it being too overwhelming. This cake also features a cream cheese frosting! There are so many different elements going on with this cake, but they all work together so beautifully. Your taste buds will be dancing after the first bite!

Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cake #4: Strawberries and Cream Cake

This Strawberries and Cream Cake has a more natural strawberry flavor compared to my original Strawberry Cake. This natural flavor comes out because of the freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry puree reduction in the recipe. Something special about this cake is the added freeze-dried strawberries in the buttercream frosting. Make sure to read the notes on the original post for tips on keeping your buttercream from getting too thick from them. I can’t wait for you to try this strawberry birthday cake! 

Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cake #5: Chocolate Strawberry Nutella Cake

Chocolate and strawberry are one of the most classic combinations, so of course, I had to include this Chocolate Strawberry Nutella Cake on this list. And as you can see in the name, this cake is extra special because of the not-so-secret ingredient, Nutella. This cake features my dark chocolate cake layers, a plain layer of Nutella, Nutella frosting, and fresh strawberries. This is such a good one for those chocolate lovers who also don’t want to miss out on a sweet strawberry treat!

Top 5 Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cakes

I hope you enjoyed this post on my top 5 favorite strawberry birthday cakes! I know you don’t need a birthday (or really any celebration) as a reason to eat cake, but I thought I’d dedicate a post to those strawberry lovers who would always vote for some type of strawberry cake on their birthday! But if you’re up for a new birthday cake flavor, you’ve got to try THIS ONE!

For more tips and recipes on all things cake, you can follow me on Instagram @cakebycourtney.

More Birthday Cake Recipe Ideas

• Strawberry Lemonade Cake with Sweet and Tart Lemon Curd Filling
• Decadent and Delicious Chocolate Strawberry Nutella Cake
• Milk Bar Birthday Cake
• Avery’s “Frozen” Birthday
• Banana Nutella S’mores Cake

The post Top 5 Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cakes first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake

Another favorite cake around here for the Valentine’s Day is my Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake. This decadent dessert is made with my moist and rich dark chocolate cake layers, silky smooth strawberry buttercream, dark chocolate ganache, and fresh strawberries. One bite and you’ll instantly be thinking you’re diving into a See’s Candy truffle. 

The Perfect Chocolate Cake

Strawberry Buttercream

This strawberry buttercream is something special! The smooth texture and incredible flavor comes from using LorAnn Oils Strawberry Emulsion. Because we’re using an emulsion instead of strawberry puree, the buttercream holds together so well. 

In addition to powdered sugar, butter and heavy whipping cream, make sure you get the emulsion. It’s essential for the flavoring. You’ll find it on Amazon, as well as Michael’s and Orson Gygi. 

Other Valentine’s Cakes You’ll Love

• Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake
• Rich and Decadent Chocolate Blackberry Cake
• Red Velvet Cookie Cake
• Red Velvet Cake with Marshmallow Filling 
• Pink Pavlova

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Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake

Rich dark chocolate cake layers with strawberry buttercream and chocolate ganache.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword chocolate, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Strawberry Cake, Strawberry, Strawberry Buttercream, Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake

Servings 1 3-layer, 8-inch cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (88.5 g) good quality cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (109 g) vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (236 g) hot water or coffee

For the Buttercream

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) strawberry emulsion
• 2 tablespoons (28.87 g) heavy whipping cream
• Pinch of salt
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

For the Ganache

• 8 oz dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (120 g) heavy whipping cream, (If you want a thinner consistency to your chocolate ganache to be able to do the drip technique, use 1 cup cream with 1 cup chocolate chips)

Garnish and Filling

• Strawberries

Instructions

For the Cake

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper, then spray the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
• Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
• In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Mix lightly until combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and mixing for 30 more seconds on medium-low speed.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 15 to 16 ounces in each 8-inch pan or 10 ounces in each 6-inch pan) and bake for 25 to 30, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
• Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. You’re still going to want to level your cake layers to ensure a completely even surface for frosting and stacking. 

For the Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about one minute on medium speed.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and mix until combined.
• Add the strawberry emulsion and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until combined.
• With the mixer still on medium-low speed, add the whipping cream. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat the frosting for about 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a wooden spoon to stir the frosting by hand to push out any air bubbles. 

For the Ganache

• Combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and place in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, stir the mixture and heat for another 30 seconds. Using a whisk, mix the melted chocolate and cream until it comes together to create a smooth, silky ganache. Let the ganache cool to room temperature before using on the cake. 

Assembly

• Level each of the cake layers. Spread a small amount of frosting on a cake board to help hold the cake in place.
• Place the first cake layer, bottom-side down, in the center of the cake board. Using an offset palette knife, spread about 1/2 to 2/3 cup frosting evenly across the cake layer. If using fresh strawberries, sprinkle 1/2 cup strawberries on the frosting and gently push them into the frosting.
• Place the second cake layer on top of the strawberry frosting layer and repeat step 2.
• Place the final cake layer, bottom-side up, on top of the second strawberry frosting layer and give the cake an even crumb coat, making sure to fill in uneven areas of the cake to create an even foundation for your main frosting.
• Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
• Continue to frost the cake and then spread or drip ganache. 

The post Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

What are your plans for this Valentine’s Day? My husband Ryan and I don’t normally celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I still love to create some fun and delicious Valentine-themed cakes. Here are 5 fun Valentine’s Day cake ideas you can try this year! I hope they make your Valentine’s Day that much more special. 

This list is made up of some of my favorite cakes I’ve made over the years for Valentine’s Day. Something I love about cakes, especially for holidays, is that the flavor combinations are timeless. (For example, chocolate-covered strawberries.) I hope you have fun baking and eating these cakes as much as I have! 

5 Fun Valentine’s Day Cake Ideas

Valentine’s Day Cake Idea #1: Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake

I made this Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake to surprise my kids one year for Valentine’s Day! Kids make every holiday a bit more magical, don’t you think? There are a lot of different elements to this cake, so make sure to check out my original post for a step-by-step tutorial on putting it together and getting the best results with the cake layers, frostings, and everything in between. 

Valentine’s Day Cake Idea #2: Red Velvet Bundt Cake

This would be a fun Valentine’s cake to whip up if you don’t have a lot of time this holiday. Something I love about my Red Velvet Bundt Cake is that I use red velvet emulsion instead of red food coloring. The emulsion really boosts the color and the flavor, making this cake that much better. If you can’t find red velvet emulsion, red food coloring is totally fine to use. It will still taste amazing! 

Valentine’s Day Cake Idea #3: Pink Velvet Cake with Raspberry Buttercream 

My Pink Velvet Cake with Raspberry Buttercream is a fun twist to the traditional red velvet cake. For this pink velvet cake, I use my favorite vanilla cake recipe and add in just a couple of drops of food coloring to get the pink color. I cannot get over how pink and tender these cake layers look! Adding the fresh raspberries on top is the perfect finishing touch. 

Valentine’s Day Cake Idea #4: Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake

Chocolate-covered strawberries, anyone? I had so much fun making this Strawberry Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake. The strawberry buttercream is really the star of the show because it tastes more like strawberries and cream. And it pairs so perfectly with the slightly bitter dark chocolate cake layers and chocolate ganache. I promise you will fall in love when you take that first bite! 

Valentine’s Day Cake Idea #5: Old Fashioned Cherry Chip Cake

I had a lot of fun playing around with the recipe for my Old Fashioned Cherry Chip Cake. There are several ways to get the color and flavors you want to pop the most, so check out my original post to see my tips on getting the best results. This vintage Valentine’s Day cake would be a hit at any Valentine’s Day party! 

5 Fun Valentine’s Day Cake Ideas

I hope you enjoyed these 5 fun Valentine’s Day cake ideas! There’s nothing like embracing the Valentine’s holiday by baking and eating a delicious pink cake. If you liked these ideas and want even more inspiration for your cakes this Valentine’s Day, check out these posts:

• 7 Cute and Easy Valentine’s Cake Ideas
• Valentine’s Day Cakes

I hope all of you have a Happy Valentine’s Day celebrating with your loved ones! Follow me on Instagram @cakebycourtney for more tips and recipes on all things cake.

The post 5 Fun Valentine’s Day Cake Ideas first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Check out these 10 of my favorite fruit filled cake recipes! 

Strawberries and Cream Cake – strawberry cake layers with fresh strawberries in a whipped cream filling and strawberry buttercream.

Coconut Lemon Raspberry Cake – creamy coconut cake layers with lemon curd, raspberry cream filling and coconut buttercream.

Blueberry Delight Cake – Nilla wafer crust, lemon ricotta cake layers, ricotta filling, blueberry compote, and blueberry buttercream.

Fluffernutter Cake – tender and fluffy white cake layers with banana cream filling, toasted marshmallow filling, and peanut butter buttercream.

Peaches and Cream Cake – layers of tender peach cake, peaches and cream filling, peach compote and a whipped vanilla buttercream. 

Champagne Cake – champagne inspired cake with tender, “champagne” cake layers, a raspberry peach puree filling and a champagne buttercream.

Inspired by my childhood favorite ice cream bar, this Strawberry Crunch Cake is made up of my go-to strawberry and vanilla cake layers, strawberry crunch filling, whipped vanilla buttercream, and is covered in a shortbread cookie strawberry crunch.

Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake – raspberry cake layers, chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream, chocolate cake layers and a raspberry cream filling.

Lemon Bar Cake – lemon cake layers baked on a shortbread crust, filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon buttercream.

Inspired by one of my favorite summer desserts, my new Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake is the perfect cake to take you into summer.

Piña Colada Cake – coconut cream cake, pineapple curd and coconut buttercream.

Which Cake is Calling to You?

Do you see your favorite fruit filling? Did I miss one of your favorites? I’d love to create more citrus inspired fruit filled cakes this summer. Do you have a certain one you love? Let me know in the comments!

And be sure to follow along with us on Instagram!

More Tips & Recipes to Enjoy

• How to Make an Easy Fruit Compote
• Tip Tuesday: Best KitchenAid Black Friday Deals
• How to Properly Stack a Cake with a Soft Filling
• Light and Fluffy Coconut Lemon Raspberry Cake
• Top 3 Cakes Using Lemon Curd

The post Fruit Filled Cakes You’ll Love first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Summer is HERE!! And so are the pool parties, picnics, and neighborhood and family barbecues! While cake is, and always will be, my favorite dessert, here are 5 of my favorite quick, easy, and crowd-pleasing dessert ideas that are sure to be a hit at whatever summer party plans you have.

Don’t forget to tag me @cakebycourtney and @shop.cakebycourtney when you create something delicious. I love seeing all the ways you take my recipes and make them your own.

Peanut Butter Pie

It’s true, I’m not a huge pie lover, HOWEVER, a pie with a graham cracker and pretzel crust is a pie I can stand behind!

Years ago I made a Magnolia Bakery Peanut Butter Pie that filled a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan with a Nilla wafer crust, peanut butter and cream cheese filling and caramel. It was heavenly! I haven’t had it in years and suddenly started dreaming about it. As I thought about looking for the recipe, I wondered if I could create my own version. I remember thinking the original was a little too rich for me (like, how is that even possible?). 

So instead of hunting down the recipe, I decided to create my own version of this decadent dessert. Check out the recipe HERE and see why it’s one of my 5 favorite quick and easy non-cake desserts!

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my dad’s favorite treats as a kid was his mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. I remember him telling me over and over again how they were the best cookies he’s ever had and no one could make them better than grandma.

Over the years, any time we would visit my grandma Margaret, she always had a fresh batch of her cookies waiting for us. I loved opening the tupperware and having the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies hit my nose. It’s a memory I’ll never forget and one I try to recreate often. These Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are my version of Grandma Margaret’s classic cookies.

Nanaomi Bars

I first learned about these Nanaomi Bars about 17 years ago when my husband returned home from living in British Columbia for a couple of years (before we were married). He actually spent time in the town of Nanaimo, where he first learned about this traditional Canadian no-bake dessert made of a graham cracker, coconut, cocoa and sometimes nut crust, with a custard filling and chocolate ganache. I remember thinking how decadent they sounded, but it was years into our marriage before I ever tried one. 

When I finally did try one, I fell in love! The combination of the bittersweet crust and ganache, with the sweet custard filling and the texture just spoke to me. Try these easy, no bake bars HERE.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

I love recipes that remind me of a certain time and place in life. This Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble recipe does just that. Every time I make it, it reminds me of summer vacations at Ryan’s parent’s house. I think his dad has made us this crumble every summer we visit. It’s been one of my favorite desserts since joining the Rich family. A tradition of summer!

Blueberry Delight Bars

This recipe is over 60-years-old and one my mom remembers having at every Christmas dinner growing up. She actually just discovered the old recipe card when going through my grandma’s recipes not too long ago. She snatched up all the cards with my grandma’s writing and plans to make copies and recipe books with them for her siblings. Don’t you worry, I’m asking for one too! Old family recipes are treasures! Hold on to them forever.

These Blueberry Delight Bars are incredibly easy to make and are no-bake! Perfect for the end of summer when it’s too hot to turn on our ovens.

The post 5 Quick and Easy (Non-Cake) Desserts first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Summer Baking Fun

I didn’t bake at ALL last week! I know, devastating and unbelievable. It’s been a long while since I’ve had a dry week like that. With end of the year school activities and cookbook editing, there were no extra hours in the day. (All I need is a few extra!)

By Sunday, I was craving being in my kitchen like you couldn’t believe! I put aside all other work, turned on a movie for Aves (the boys were off at BYU Fathers and Sons Sports Camp), and grabbed my apron as soon as we walked in the door from church. The plan was to start on an entirely new cake, but then I remembered I had yellow cake layers all ready to go and I didn’t want them to go to waste. I thought about what to pair them with and quickly remembered your love of strawberry buttercream with yellow cake.

Sweet and Salty Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake

Yellow cake is like a neutral – it goes with everything! So when you suggested putting strawberry buttercream with it, I was all-in on that combo. As I started making my buttercream, however, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this cake needed something else. You know how I love a little texture in my cakes!

Pretzel Crunch Filling

Almost as quickly as I had that thought, I remembered the filling I used in my Raspberry Pretzel Crunch Cake. This cake was inspired by my mom’s raspberry Jell-O pretzel salad. I have a feeling you know exactly what I’m talking about. It has a pretzel crust, a whipped cream cheese layer, and a raspberry (or sometimes strawberry) layer on top. It was a tradition at my house every Christmas and it made a fabulous cake flavor! The sweet raspberry cake paired with the salty pretzel crunch filling is a sweet and salty lover’s heaven!

For the filling, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand:

• Milk powder
• White chocolate chips
• Butter
• Freeze-dried strawberries
• Pretzels

The Most Delicious Yellow Cake Layers

These yellow cake layers are so versatile and incredibly tender and moist. I usually pair them with chocolate buttercream, but as I said earlier, they really go with just about every flavor.

With all butter-based cakes, remember to beat the butter, sugar, oil (if called for), and eggs for a while (about 3 to 5 minutes). We want this done at a medium-high speed to ensure the ingredients blend well and we add some volume to the batter (which will help our layers rise beautifully).

Ingredients you’ll need for the yellow cake:

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Vegetable or canola oil
• Butter extract
• Vanilla extract
• Cake flour (read the importance of cake flour HERE)
• Eggs
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Sour cream

Flavorful Strawberry Buttercream

My love for this strawberry buttercream is REAL! So much so, I’ve used it in three cakes:

• Strawberry Biscoff Cake
• Strawberries and Cream Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Cake

The flavor is incredible, thanks to the combination of freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry jam. If you haven’t made this one yet, I think as soon as you do, you’ll quickly understand why it’s part of three cakes already.

To make this buttercream, grab the following ingredients:

• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla
• Salt
• Freeze-dried strawberries (I often find mine at Target, Trader Joe’s and Walmart)
• Strawberry jam
• Heavy whipping cream

And be sure to follow my tips for making the best buttercream!

TIPS FOR GETTING CAKES TO RISE EVENLY

Don’t forget to follow my go-to tips for getting your cakes to rise and bake well:

• Preheat your oven for 30 minutes prior to baking.
• Use good quality pans like Fat Daddio.
• Spray your pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. 
• Don’t overmix your cake batter once you add the dry ingredients.
• Use room temperature wet ingredients.
• Use fresh baking powder.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

• Best Cakes for Beginner Bakers
• Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
• Top 5 Favorite Strawberry Birthday Cakes
• Chocolate Pretzel Cake
• The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake

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Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake

Tender yellow cake layers with strawberry buttercream and a pretzel crunch filling.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Intermediate, Pretzel, Strawberry Buttercream, Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake, Yellow Cake

Servings 20

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 2 tsp (8 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cup (350 g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (72.6) canola oil
• 5 eggs at room temperature
• 2 egg yolks at room temperature
• 1 tsp (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• 1 tsp (4.2 g) butter extract
• 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream at room temperature

FOR THE PRETZEL CRUNCH FILLING

• 1/2 cup (62.5 g) cup milk powder
• 1/4 cup (30 g) crushed pretzels you want these finely crushed, I used a food processor
• 2 tbsp (16.9 g) cornstarch
• 2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
• 4 tbsp (56.5 g) unsalted butter melted
• 1/4 cup (31.25 g) milk powder
• 1/4 cup (14 g) crushed freeze dried strawberries
• 3 oz white chocolate chips melted

Strawberry Buttercream

• 2 cups (456 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
• 5 cups (500 g) powdered sguar measured then sifted
• 1/4 cup (14 g) finely ground freeze dried strawberries
• 1/4 cup (59.25 g) strawberry jam
• 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and canola oil on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs and egg yolks, in a few additions, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla and butter extracts. Continue to beat for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high speed.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix on low, just until flour is combined.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
• Let cool completely before using.

FOR THE PRETZEL CRUNCH

• Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine 1/2 cup milk powder, pretzel crumbs, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Toss with your hands to mix. Add the melted butter and toss, using a spatula or spoon, until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.
• Spread the clusters on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes. Cool the crumbs completely.
• Crumble any clusters that are larger than 1/2 inch in diameter, and put the crumbs back in the medium bowl. Add the 1/4 cup milk powder and toss together until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
• Pour the melted white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until your clusters are covered. Add the freeze dried strawberries and toss to distribute. Continue tossing them every five minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky. The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.

Strawberry Buttercream

• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• Add the freeze dried strawberries and the strawberry jam, and stir to combine.
• With mixer on medium speed, add heavy whipping cream and vanilla.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The buttercream will become lighter in color and texture.

Assembly

• Place the first cake layer, top side up, in the center of a cake board or cake plate.
• Evenly spread about 1 cup of buttercream across the cake layer.
• Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the pretzel crunch over the buttercream and pat into place with your hand.
• Repeat steps 2 and 3 with second cake layer. Place final cake layer, top side down, on second layer of filling.
• Cover the cake with a thin coat of buttercream and then freeze the entire cake for 15 minutes.
• Once the crumb coat is set, continue decorating the cake with the remaining buttercream.

The post Sweet and Salty Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

More Summer-Inspired Cakes You’ll Love

• Strawberry Pretzel Delight Cake
• Coconut Lemon Raspberry Cake
• Orange Almond Poppy Seed Cake
• Pina Colada Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake

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Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Strawberry lemon cake layers, filled with lemon curd and topped with strawberry cream cheese buttercream.

 

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Intermediate, strawberry cake, Strawberry lemonade cake

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (339g) cake flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons (18g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/3  cups (266g) granulated sugar
• 1 3 oz. package of strawberry flavored Jell-O
• 3 teaspoons lemon zest
• 5 large or extra large egg whites at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240g) buttermilk at room temperature

FOR THE CURD

• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (115g) lemon juice about 3 large lemons
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 tbsp (56.5g) cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 2 cups (452g) unsalted butter slightly cold
• 6 oz. (170g) cream cheese slightly cold
• 6 cups (750g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion
• 3 tablespoons (42g) heavy whipping cream
• Pinch of salt
• *If you want to pipe swirls around the cake like I did, add an extra half batch of buttercream.

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, Jell-O and zest. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the egg whites, in a few additions, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix on low, just until flour is combined.
• 5. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
• 6. Let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes and then invert onto wire cooling wraps to cool completely. Cakes can be individually wrapped in plastic wrapped and frozen for a week. If you’d like to freeze them longer than one week, wrap each cake layer in tin foil as well.

FOR THE CURD

• 1. Whisk the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the whole eggs and yolks in a small bowl and then whisk them into the lemon mixture.
• 2. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it’s thick like pudding, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time until incorporated.
• 3. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pushing it through with a rubber spatula. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely set, at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• 2. Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the strawberry emulsion, cream and salt.
• 3. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes.
• 4. Before frosting your cake, mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon to push out any air pockets. If the frosting feels too soft to frost or pipe, cover it and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes.

ASSEMBLY

• 1. Spread a dollop of frosting on a cake board or cake plate to hold the first cake layer in place.
• 2. Place the first cake layer, top side up, on the cake board and pipe a rim of strawberry frosting around the edges to act as a barrier to the lemon curd. Spread half of the lemon curd (about 3/4 cup) on the cake layer.
• 3. Top with the next cake layer and repeat step 2.
• 4. Place the third cake layer, top side down, on the second layer of filling. Apply a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze the cake for about 10-15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
• 5. If your frosting feels soft at this point, refrigerate it while the crumb coat sets.
• 6. Continue frosting your cake, making sure to stir the frosting with a wooden spoon to push out any air pockets.
• 7. If you’re not serving within the day, you can freeze the cake in a cake box or container for up to a week – just make sure to remove the cake from the freezer about 6 hours before you plan to serve it.

The post Strawberry Lemonade Cake with Sweet and Tart Lemon Curd Filling first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Biscoff Strawberry Cake

With summer coming to an end soon, I’m doing my very best to get a few more summer-inspired cake flavors in! Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall-inspired flavors coming our way, but somehow there’s never enough time to bake all the cakes I have planned – and I had A LOT of summer cakes planned. I have a few more to do this month, and then I can’t wait to start fall cakes!

This week’s new cake is my Biscoff Strawberry Cake, inspired by an ice cream flavor at Rockwell Ice Cream here in Utah. This cake is made with my Biscoff cake layers, Biscoff filling and cookies, strawberry buttercream and fresh strawberries.

I don’t know how it does, but Biscoff seems to pair so well with so many flavors. Strawberry was so exception!

Biscoff Cake

My Biscoff cake layers are made with a 18 Biscoff cookies that you’ll pulverize in a food processor or blender. If you’re using the traditional Biscoff sleeve of cookies, this leaves a few left over to crumble in between the layers and sprinkle on top of the cake.

The flavor and texture of this cake are really unique and delicious. You’ll notice the cake is on the more dense side, but nothing like a pound cake that is truly a dense texture. This cake just isn’t light and fluffy. Instead, you get a really great texture that’s tender and moist, but not at all airy. I also love that these layers seem to bake evenly and flat on top every time!

I baked the batter in only TWO 8-inch cake pans this time, so my layers would be thick enough to split in half so I could put extra filling in the cake.

Layering: I used the Biscoff filling twice, but if you prefer more strawberry buttercream, you can switch the pattern above and do two layers of buttercream and one layer of Biscoff filling.

Biscoff Alternative: If you live somewhere Biscoff cookies or Speculoos cookies are unavailable, graham crackers or any kind of cinnamon biscuit cookie would make a great alternative to the Biscoff cookies in the cake layers.

Helpful Cake Baking Tips:

• Preheat oven 20 to 30 minutes before baking.
• Use room temperature ingredients.
• Spray your pan. Line with parchment paper.
• Beat butter and sugar on high for a few minutes.
• Turn mixer to LOW once you add dry ingredients.
• Don’t over bake your cake layer. When you insert a toothpick in the center of the cake it should come out with a few moist crumbs on it.

Biscoff Filling

The Biscoff filling is also the same filling from my Biscoff Cake. It’s one of my favorite cake fillings and also makes an incredible dessert dip too! This is a great element to make ahead of time. It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Biscoff Alternative: If you live somewhere Biscoff spread or Speculoos cookie spread are unavailable, you can use graham crackers or any kind of cinnamon biscuit cookies to make your own filling/frosting. Here’s how:

• Soak 1/2 cup cookie crumbs in 1 cup of whole milk for 20 minutes.
• Strain the milk mixture through a mesh strainer so you just have the flavored milk.
• Beat 1 cup of unsalted butter and three cups of powdered sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
• Slowly stream in the flavored milk.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat the mixture on medium-high for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Strawberry Buttercream

For the strawberry element, I paired the Biscoff with my strawberry buttercream from my Strawberries and Cream Cake. While some of my strawberry cakes have emulsion in the buttercream, this one uses more natural flavors from freeze dried strawberries and strawberry jam. You’ll need to pulverize the freeze dried strawberries to a fine powder, like powdered sugar. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of the freeze dried strawberries – that’s after you pulverize them.

We’re also adding some strawberry jam to the buttercream for more color and flavor. You can use jam or jelly – just depends if you want seeds or not.

Tip: make sure you’re using your paddle attachment and beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes to really blend all of the ingredients. This also helps to lighten the texture of the buttercream so it’s not too dense.

Conversations Over Cake

And in case you missed it, Ryan and I made my Biscoff Strawberry Cake for an episode of Conversations Over Cake a couple weeks ago. My Biscoff Cake is one of Ryan’s favorite cakes I’ve ever made. And even though he doesn’t love fruit in his cakes, he gave this one one of his best reviews, “pretty good.”

Raw Edge

To get the raw edge look on the top of the cake, follow these steps and take a look at the video above:

• Apply a thin layer of buttercream over the cake once you’ve stacked it. This is the crumb coat. Freeze the crumb coated cake for 10 minutes.
• Using an offset icing spatula, evenly spread about a half cup of buttercream over the top of the cake, making sure to push some of the buttercream over the edge of the cake.
• Once the top is evenly covered, use your straight icing spatula to apply buttercream to the sides of your cake.
• Make sure to get eye level with your cake often to ensure the buttercream is going on straight.
• Once the sides are covered, use your cake scraper to smooth out the sides. As you do this, the buttercream from the top of the cake and the side of the cake will meet up and be pushed up into this crown.

Enjoy!

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Biscoff Strawberry Cake

Biscoff cake layers with Biscoff spread and cookies and strawberry buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Biscoff Strawberry Cake, Intermediate

Servings 1 4-layer 8-inch

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 18 Biscoff or Speculoos Cookies
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons (7 g) baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon (4.2 g) salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup (133 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar packed
• 4 large or extra large eggs at room temperature
• 2 cups (480 g) buttermilk at room temperature 

FOR THE FILLING

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (250 g) Biscoff spread or other cookie butter
• 1 cup  (125 g) powdered sugar sifted 

FOR THE FROSTING

• 2 cup (452 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
• 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 1/2 cup (14 g) pulverized freeze dried strawberries
• 1/4 cup (40 g) strawberry jelly or jam if you don't mind seeds
• 1 tsp (4.2 g) vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (76 g) heavy whipping cream 
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

GARNISH

• Fresh strawberries

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch pans with non-stick cooking spray, line the bottoms with parchment and spray again. Set aside.
• Place the Biscoff cookies in a food processor or blender and pulse until the cookies are finely ground and resemble flour.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine the Biscoff crumbs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until the ingredients are well-blended.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Slowly add half of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Continue alternating the flour and buttermilk until it has all been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and slowly mix for another 20-30 seconds.
• Divide the batter evenly among your pans and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. 

FOR THE FILLING

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and Biscoff spread or cookie butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes. 

FOR THE FROSTING

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed for about two minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and freeze dried strawberries until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix for another minute.
• Add the jelly, cream and vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high and beat the frosting for five minutes, until light in color and texture. If the buttercream seems too thick, add a couple more tablespoons jelly and cream.

ASSEMBLY

• Divide each cake layer in half to create four thin cake layers.
• Place the first cake layer on a cake board and top with 1 cup Biscoff filling. Crumble three cookies into small pieces and press into the filling.
• Place the second cake layer on the Biscoff filling and evenly spread 1 cup of strawberry buttercream over the cake layer. Slice fresh strawberries and place them over the buttercream.
• Place the next cake layer on top and cover with another cup of Biscoff filling and more cookies.
• Gently place the final cake layer, top side down, on the top.
• Apply a thin crumb coat around the cake and chill for 10 minutes in the freezer to set.
• Finish frosting the cake with the strawberry buttercream.

The post Delicious and Easy Biscoff Strawberry Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Neapolitan Cake – Six layers of chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, strawberry cake, and strawberry buttercream.

Happy Birthday to Me

Is it ok to wish myself happy birthday? I mean, I do make my own birthday cakes… so I’m going to say it’s ok to wish myself happy birthday too

Yup, today’s my 36th birthday and I can hardly believe I’m saying that. (Where does time go?) I love birthdays. Mine, yours, whoevers! Birthdays are so fun and are meant to be celebrated to the fullest!

Birthday Cake

Of course, it’s not a birthday (or any normal day around here) without cake! Deciding on my birthday cake each year is one of my favorite things to do. In the past I’ve made myself my Peanut Butter Dream Cake, my Ultimate S’mores Cake, my Tonight Show Cake. Clearly a theme! Peanut butter fanatic over here!

Well, this year I strayed from the expected and went with one of your suggestions! Neapolitan Cake.

You’ve requested a Neapolitan Cake from me quite a bit over the years and I’m so happy I finally got around to making it! I’ve used my go-to chocolate cake layers with my silky chocolate buttercream, my vanilla cake with my classic vanilla buttercream, and I have a new strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream I’ve added to the mix.

New Strawberry Cake

You may recall my other strawberry cake from recipes like my Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, my Strawberry Lemonade Cake, and my Strawberry Crunch Cake. I created that strawberry cake a few years ago to mimic one of the best cakes I’d ever had at the Cake Bar in Dallas. I think I did a pretty good job making a copycat version of that particular cake, but that cake is definitely on the sweeter side. It’s also more of an artificial strawberry flavor thanks to the strawberry Jell-O in the layers. And while I love that cake, I decided to create a new, more naturally flavored strawberry cake. (Another request of yours).

To get the natural flavor of strawberries in this cake, I used a combination of finely ground freeze dried strawberries and a reduced strawberry puree. I found that in my testing, neither one of these ingredients on its own gave me a strong enough flavor. The combination of the two, however, was perfect! I licked my bowl clean each time I made this cake. It was almost like eating strawberry ice cream.

The strawberry buttercream also has freeze dried strawberries. You’ll also notice I’m using a bit more heavy cream in the frosting than usual. This helps to lighten the texture and make it nice and creamy.

I’ll share the full strawberry cake recipe soon, as it’s part of my new Strawberries n’ Cream Cake.

Neapolitan Cake

But back to the Neapolitan Cake as a whole. I love every single one of these cakes on its own, as well as in one giant bite together.

As you look at the recipe, you’ll notice a couple changes from my normal cake recipes. Because I wanted to split each cake layer in half, I used an entire half recipe of one of my cakes for just one layer. To make sure I got a really even bake, with all that batter in my pan, I reduced the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and baked for slightly longer.

There’s definitely a lot of steps in this cake, so I’d recommend spreading the work out over a couple days. Do your cake layers one day, your frostings another and then assembly on the day of your party.

For me, I’ve made two of these cakes and will be sharing them with friends on Saturday. To store them, I put them in the freezer with plastic wrap around them. On Friday night I plan to place them in the fridge to start thawing. Then on Saturday morning, I’ll move them to room temperature to thaw completely. This method helps so that there’s no a lot of condensation build up.

Ok! So there you have it! This year’s birthday cake and another classic in the books. Hope you love it!

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Neapolitan Cake

Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, strawberry cake and strawberry buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Keyword Neapolitan Cake

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 20 people

Author Courtney Rich

Ingredients

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE

• 1 1/4 (150 g) cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (59 g) good cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.8 g) kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk room temperature
• 1/4 cup (54.5 g) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (118.3 g) hot water

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
• 5 oz. good quality chocolate of your choice I use dark or semi, melted
• 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 1 teaspoons (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons (57.75 g) heavy cream

FOR THE VANILLA CAKE

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 tablespoons (54.5 g) canola oil
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.8 g) salt
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (172.5 g) cake flour
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
• 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract

FOR THE VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
• 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 3 tablespoons (43.31 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) vanilla extract

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE

• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 tablespoons (54.5 g) vegetable or canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp (2.1 g) vanilla
• 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups (143.75 g) cake flour
• 1 oz freeze dried strawberries measured and then pulverized into a powder
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 cup (116 g) strawberry puree about 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries, pureed and simmer over the stove to thicken and reduce to 1/2 cup

FOR THE STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 1/2 oz. freeze dried strawberries measured and then pulverized into a powder
• 4 tablespoons (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract

Instructions

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray one 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, then spray the parchment paper. Set aside.
• Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
• In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. (I like to spray my cooling racks with nonstick spray to ensure non of the cake sticks to the racks).
• Divide the cake layer, horizontally. Wrap the entire cake layer in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

• In a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about two minutes.
• Slowly add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
• Add the vanilla, salt and heavy cream. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for another 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Before frosting your cake, use a wooden spoon to hand mix the frosting to push out air bubbles.

FOR THE VANILLA CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray one 8″ round cake pan with non-stick spray, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, oil, sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Turn the mixer to medium-low and add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition.
• With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour and baking powder with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until combined.
• Add the vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined.
• Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with only just a few crumbs on it.
• Cool the cake on wire racks for about 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto cooking racks to cool completely. Once cooled, carefully divide the cake in half horizontally.
• If you don’t plan to stack and decorate the cake right away, level the cakes if needed and then immediately wrap each layer in plastic wrap or tin foil and freeze.
• About an hour before assembly, remove the cake from the freezer.

FOR THE VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar, followed by the heavy cream, and vanilla extract.
• Continue to beat the frosting on medium-high speed for an additional 5 minutes.
• Before frosting your cake, mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray one 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and freeze dried strawberries. Set aside.
• In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter for about 2 minutes. Add the oil and beat for another 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Add the vanilla.
• With the mixer on low, alternatively add the flour mixture with the strawberry puree, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
• Bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
• Let cool completely and then divide the layer like you did with the chocolate and vanilla cakes.

FOR THE STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• Add the freeze dried strawberries.
• With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, and vanilla
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.

ASSEMBLY

• Starting with the chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream, place the first half of the chocolate cake on a cake board. Spread about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of of the chocolate buttercream over the cake layer. Top with the second half of the chocolate cake and spread another 1/2 to 3/4 cup buttercream on top.
• Place the first half of the vanilla cake layer on top of the chocolate buttercream. Top with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup vanilla buttercream, followed by the second half of the vanilla cake and more vanilla buttercream.
• On top of the vanilla buttercream, place the first half of the strawberry cake, followed by 1/2 to 3/4 cup strawberry buttercream. Place the final strawberry cake layer on top of the strawberry buttercream.
• Apply a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake. I used chocolate buttercream around the chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream around the vanilla cake, and strawberry buttercream around the strawberry cake. This thin layer of frosting is your crumb coat. After you apply the crumb coat, you’ll put the entire cake into the freeze for 10 to 15 minutes. This sets the crumb coat and locks the crumbs in place so you don’t have them in your final coat of frosting.
• Once the cake has chilled for 10 to 15 minutes, continue to frost the cake with the remaining frosting.

The post Neapolitan Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

Strawberry Cake – Tender strawberry cake layers with fresh strawberries and cream cheese frosting.

Inspiration

A couple years ago, I was in Dallas for my consulting job and had some time to grab lunch with my older brother. I travel to Dallas quite a bit for work and Chris always takes me to the yummiest restaurants (Porch, Smoke, Savor… to name a few). We usually don’t get a lot of time together, so we often skip dessert (insert sad face emoji here). This time around, however, we had just enough time to make a stop at the Cake Bar.

Of course, I wanted to order a slice of everything, but narrowed it down to two flavors: chocolate and strawberry (a customer favorite, I was told). I’m typically a chocolate lover, but this time (to my surprise) I was blown away by the strawberry cake. It was perfection; so flavorful and moist. I just couldn’t stop shoveling it into my mouth. I knew immediately that I had to recreate this cake when I got home.

Strawberry Cake

As soon as I got returned from my trip, I started looking at strawberry cake recipes. Based on my research, I knew I wanted to use flavored gelatin because it would give the cake an added punch of strawberry flavor that strawberry puree on its own didn’t seem to achieve in most recipes. The Cake Bar cake had such a great strawberry flavor. I’m convinced they used the flavored gelatin too. I’d love to find out someday!

The cake turned out super moist and fluffy, not dense like so many other strawberry cakes do. The sifted cake flour also helps to create a light cake.

So, as far as the cake goes, I’m giving it two thumbs up. I’m super happy with how it turned out and will be putting it in my arsenal of cake recipes.

Filling

When I originally made this strawberry cake, I paired it with a strawberry puree filling. I’ve since changed the filling and now fill the cake with more cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries. It helps to make the cake a little less sweet actually.

Frosting

I used to not love cream cheese frosting until I learned to make my own. This one is SO good! It’s my go-to cream cheese frosting. I’ve used it in so many cakes (you can see the list HERE). I use less cream cheese than most people do, I think. Just enough to give it a tart flavor, but not too much where the flavor steals the show.

I hope you love this cake as much as I do. And if you’ve ever had the Cake Bar version, I’d love to know how you think it compares!

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry cake layers with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings 1 3-layer, 8-inch cake

Author Courtney Rich

Ingredients

• For the Strawberry Cake
• 1 1/2 cups 300 g granulated sugar
• 1 3 oz. package of strawberry flavored Jell-O
• 1 cup 226 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup 120 g sour cream, at room temperature
• 5 large egg whites room temperature
• 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons 366.5 g cake flour
• 2 teaspoons 8 g baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon 2.8 g salt
• 1 cup 240 g buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon 4.2 g pure vanilla extract
• For the Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1 1/2 cups 3 sticks (339 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 4 oz. cream cheese slightly chilled
• 6 cups 750 g powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 3 tablespoons 43.3 g heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon 4.2 g pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.
• Fresh strawberries

Instructions

• For the Strawberry Cake
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, then place parchment rounds on the bottom and spray again. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, Jell-O, and sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. 
• With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the egg whites, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition. 
• Add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix for another 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again on low for another 20 seconds.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 16 ounces of batter in each pan). I used three 8-inch pans and my cooking time was 22 minutes. Baking time should be between 22-25 minutes for the 8-inch, but make sure to check on your cakes around 22 minutes, inserting a toothpick into the top of the cake (should come out with just a few crumbs) or gently tapping the top of your cake (shouldn’t jiggle, but instead, bounce back up when done).
• Let cool in your pans for 10 minutes and then invert onto wire cooling racks until completely cooled.
• For the Cream Cheese Frosting
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
• With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until incorporated. 
• Keeping the mixer on low, add the cream, vanilla and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium and beat the frosting for 3-5 minutes, or until it is light in color (almost white) and texture.
• To remove air bubbles from the frosting, use a wooden spoon to stir and push out the air bubbles. 

The post Strawberry Cake first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

This late winter in Utah has me aching to bypass spring and jump feet first into summer. We had snow a week ago, you guys! The second week of April! Simply uncalled for, if you ask me This California girl will never get used to what people call a Utah “spring.” It’s just an extra long winter. There’s no way to make that sound enjoyable.

As I’ve been dreaming of pool days, I’ve been thinking about new summer-inspired cake flavors I want to whip up. Last year I did a Watermelon Lime Cake, a Root Beer Float Cake, and a Rainbow Sherbet Cake, to name a few. I loved how each one of them turned out. I couldn’t help but think back to my childhood with each bite.

This year, I’m returning to memory lane with my childhood favorite summer treat, the Strawberry Crunch Bar.

Strawberry Crunch Cake

As I thought about turning this yummy treat into a cake, I knew I didn’t want it to have ice cream. (Just goes against everything I stand for ;). ) I wanted to make sure, however, that it had all the same flavors as the bar. It needed to be the perfect blend of strawberry and vanilla with a little crunch.

I looked at Pinterest to see how often this cake has been made and to my surprise, I only found a few layered cakes similar to what I had in mind. One of the cakes that caught my attention was from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. Her version of this cake was very similar to what I envisioned for my cake: layers of strawberry and vanilla cake with a yummy strawberry crunch coating. I immediately felt like soul sisters

My Version

For my version, I whipped up a half batch of my vanilla cake (the base of my Funfetti Cake) and a half batch of my Strawberry Cake. I then made my Strawberry Frosting and threw in some freeze-dried strawberries to give it a little texture and flavor dimension.

For the vanilla frosting, I adapted the vanilla frosting from the Milk Bar Birthday Cake. I love how light and fluffy it is and thought it would pair well with the slightly denser strawberry filling.

As for the outer layer of crunch (or crack, as some might say), I toasted shortbread cookie crumbs and then mixed in chopped up freeze-dried strawberries. You’ll have some leftovers of this, but don’t throw it away. I always save any extra fillings to serve alongside the cake.

The layers of cake are tender and fluffy and full of flavor. And I love how the two frostings complement each other with different textures and flavors.

It’s a summer cake worthy of your reliving childhood memories. I hope you love it as much as I do!

And here’s a little behind-the-scenes of how I put together this cake.

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Crunch Cake

Inspired by a childhood favorite ice cream bar, this Strawberry Crunch Cake is made up of strawberry and vanilla cake layers, strawberry crunch filling, whipped vanilla buttercream, covered in a shortbread cookie strawberry crunch.

Servings 1 4-layer, 6-inch cake

Ingredients

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE

• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1.5 ounces of strawberry flavored Jell-O
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (186.8 g) cake flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.4 g) salt
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter at room temperature and cut into cubes
• 3 large or extra large egg whites at room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons (165 g) buttermilk divided, at room temperature
• 1/2 tablespoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract 

FOR THE VANILLA CAKE

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk room temperature
• 1 teaspoons (4.2 g) clear vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (186.8 g)cake flour
• 1 cups (200) granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon (16 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.8 g) salt
• 6 tablespoons (84.75 g) unsalted butter room temperature 

FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) strawberry emulsion
• 1 cup (125 g) freeze dried strawberries crushed and then measured
• 4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 2 tablespoons (28.87 g) heavy whipping cream

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM (adapted from Milk Bar)

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
• 1/2 cup (109 g) vegetable shortening
• 3 ounces cream cheese slightly chilled
• 5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) clear vanilla extract
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

FOR THE COOKIE CRUNCH (adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen)

• 24 shortbread cookies I used Lorna Doone
• 1/4 cup (56.5 g) unsalted butter melted
• 1 cup (120 g) freeze dried strawberries crushed and then measured

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare four 6-inch round cake pans by spraying each pan with non-stick spray, covering the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, and spraying the parchment paper with the non-stick spray as well. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, sugar, Jell-O, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
• Add the cubed butter, one piece at a time, and 1/2 cup of buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Beat on medium-low speed until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites and remaining 3 tablespoons of buttermilk. Add the mixture to the mixing bowl in 2 separate additions, mixing for about 30 seconds and scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
• Divide the batter evenly between two of the four 6-inch pans (about 12 ounces of batter in each pan). Bake for about 15 minutes.
• Let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes and then invert onto wire cooling wraps to cool completely. Cakes can be individually wrapped in plastic wrapped and frozen for a week. If you’d like to freeze them longer than one week, wrap each cake layer in tin foil as well. Level the layers before freezing, if needed.

FOR THE VANILLA CAKE

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the egg whites and clear vanilla extract. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and buttermilk. Continue to mix on low until just combined and then increase to medium speed and mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg mixture in two additions, beating on medium speed for about 20 seconds after each addition until just combined and all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
• Divide the batter into the remaining two 6-inch pans, using a kitchen scale to measure equal parts in each pan. (About 12 ounces of batter).
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then invert onto wire racks until completely cool. 

FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. 
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the strawberry emulsion.
• Add the whipping cream and turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Fold in the freeze dried strawberries. 

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, shortening, and cream cheese and beat together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
• With the mixer on its lowest speed, add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Increase the speed back up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have a nearly white frosting. 
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a wooden spoon and mix by hand to stir out the air bubbles.

FOR THE COOKIE CRUNCH

• Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a food processor or blender, pulse the shortbread cookies until they are crumbs. Add the melted butter and mix until combined.
• Bake the crumbs for 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine the toasted shortbread cookie crumbs and freeze dried strawberries.

ASSEMBLY

• Level each cake layer, if needed, and then place one of the vanilla cake layers, crumb side up, on a cake board that has a little smear of frosting on it.
• Spread half 1/3 of the strawberry filling over the vanilla cake layer. Place a strawberry cake layer on top of the filling and spread another 1/3 of the filling over the strawberry cake layer. Repeat for the second vanilla cake layer, and then place the final strawberry cake layer, crumb side down, on top.
• Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of vanilla frosting. Freeze the cake for about 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat and lock the crumbs into place. 
• Finish frosting the cake with the remaining vanilla frosting and the cover the entire cake in the shortbread cookie strawberry crunch.  

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