The Best Strawberry Cake Recipe

Introduction:
Hello everyone! Don't hate me for saying this, but there are two problems with a regular strawberry cake. Firstly, if it's a recipe that uses fresh strawberries only, it often lacks that kind of strawberry flavor hit that you want from, well, a strawberry cake. Secondly, if it only uses strawberry essence or extract, it often has this overwhelmingly artificial flavor, which, yeah, I just really don't like. So today, I'm going to bring together the best of both worlds and share my super soft strawberry cake recipe that is bursting with strawberry flavor.

Ingredients:
Strawberry Filling
600g strawberries, hulled and halved
150g (3/4 cup) white granulated sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
60g (1/4 cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice
22g (3 tbsp) cornstarch
2 tbsp water
Cake
300g (2 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour
25g (1/4 cup) cornstarch (also known as cornflour)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
195g (3/4 cup) strawberry filling (from above)
60g (1/4 cup) room temperature milk
Red gel food coloring (optional)
113g (1/2 cup) room temperature unsalted butter
105g (1/2 cup) unflavored vegetable oil (like canola oil)
300g (1 1/2 cups) white granulated sugar
225g egg whites (from about 6 large eggs)
3 tsp strawberry essence or extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
225g (1 cup) room temperature unsalted butter
570g (4 1/2 cups) icing sugar (also known as powdered or confectioners' sugar)
335g (1 1/2 cups) cold cream cheese (not spreadable type)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp strawberry extract or essence
65g (1/4 cup) strawberry filling (from above)

Instructions:
Strawberry Filling:
Place the hulled and halved strawberries into a large frypan.
Add the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries are soft (about 10 minutes).
Mash the strawberries well with a potato masher.
Continue to cook until the mixture has reduced and thickened (about another 10 minutes).
Mix the cornstarch with water until smooth, then add to the strawberry mixture.
Cook for a few more minutes until the filling thickens.
Cool completely before using (place in a large dish and pop into the freezer for about 30 minutes to speed up the process).

Cake:
Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) with the fan on.
Grease or line two 8-inch cake tins.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, combine 195g of the strawberry filling, milk, and a small drop of red gel food coloring. Mix well.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Add the egg whites in three batches, mixing well between each addition.
Add half of the strawberry milk mixture, strawberry essence, vanilla extract, and white vinegar to the batter. Mix until well combined.
Fold in half of the dry ingredients until just combined.
Add the remaining strawberry milk mixture, fold until just combined, and then add the remaining dry ingredients, folding until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in the tins for 20 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the icing sugar in three batches, mixing well between each addition.
Add the cold cream cheese, vanilla extract, and strawberry extract. Mix until just combined.
Add the strawberry filling and mix until just combined.
If the frosting is dull in color, add a small amount of red gel food coloring.

Assembly:
If desired, trim the brown edges off the cake layers for a clean look.
Place the first cake layer on a cake stand and top with a generous amount of frosting. Smooth it out with an offset spatula.
Pipe a dam of frosting around the edge of the first layer, fill with strawberry filling, and smooth it out.
Place the second cake layer on top.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Pipe decorations around the top edge with any remaining frosting.
Garnish with fresh strawberries.

Conclusion:
This strawberry cake is bursting with strawberry flavor, and the cake layers are so incredibly soft. The strawberry cream cheese frosting adds a whole other depth of flavor to the cake. If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please leave a review on my blog. It really helps out my content, and I love hearing from you.

Created by : Cakes by MK