So not only have I been seriously skipping out on the gym recently, but now I’m also eating cake for breakfast.
Oops.
But it gets worse. I might have also eaten four pieces of this cake in a single day. Might have… as in yes I totally did.
But this is totally redeemable when you consider the fact that it is chock-full-o’ fresh strawberries.
So, it’s practically a healthy breakfast. Right?
Right. We’ll go with that.
ANYWAY, tis the season for ripe, red, fresh strawberries. I highly recommend you take advantage of that the same way I did and make this cake.
But when you do, do yourself another favor and stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours before indulging. This allows that fresh-picked strawberry flavor to really really come out in this moist, strawberry-dense cake (no Jello-flavoring needed here).
And that frosting… my new favorite frosting. It’s so airy and light, a classic cream cheese icing flavor whipped with heavy cream until it’s light and fluffy… it will literally melt in your mouth. It’s so delicate, and so delicious.
So… is cake for dinner not a good idea either?
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup strawberry puree* see note
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Frosting
- 1 package cream cheese softened, 8 oz
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare two 9 1/2" round cake pans by greasing bottoms and sides with crisco and lightly flouring them. Set aside.
- In mixer, combine oil, milk, and sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is well combined and an even, hazy, yellow-ish. color.
- Add in pureed strawberries, beat again for about 1 minute.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Beat well.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.
- Measure out your sour cream.
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour and sour cream, alternating between the two until flour mixture and sour cream are combined.
- To achieve a brighter, more pink color, add red food coloring to your cake mix (I added approximately 5 drops of red food dye).
- Divide cake batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees on center rack of oven for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean (few crumbs).
- Allow cakes to cool fully after baking before frosting and serving.
Frosting
- In mixer, combine cream cheese, vanilla extract and sugar, beating until evenly combined.
- Increase speed of mixer to medium-high and slowly, gradually pour in heavy cream.
- Beat until frosting achieves light, airy texture (about 2 minutes on high speed)
Notes
Optional: For a strawberry-flavored center frosting, set aside a portion of the frosting that you will use for the center of your cake and (by hand) stir in additional/leftover strawberry puree until you reach your desired level of strawberry-ness.
Nanyonjo Dorah says
hi Sam can I use buttermilk as a substitute for sour milk. I want to try this recipe
Sam says
Do you mean sour cream? There is no sour milk in the recipe. I think the buttermilk would work as a substitute in this case, but I have not tried it so I can’t be certain. 🙂
Calli says
I made this tonight and it was perfect. I live out out of the country so I made a few modifications. I use butter instead of vegetable oil (because if this I used. 1.2 x melted butter and then reduced the milk so my liquids stayed the same), I also used creme fraishe instead of sour cream. Since I didn’t have cake pans, I used a 12×9 pan. It was perfect and I will.make again!
Sam says
I’m so hapy to hear that you enjoyed it so much, Calli!!
Stephanie says
I live in Denver, Colorado and I love making this cake! I do not alter the recipe and it turns out great. Everyone loves the thickness which is always a sign of homemade. I also make cupcakes and its really nice having so many extra to share. This round I am going to try a chocolate cream cheese icing, by request. Besides the sour cream and strawberries, I have all the ingredients on deck which is something I look for when I favorite (star) my recipes. Simple and easy. Thanks for sharing!
Sam says
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Stephanie!! Chocolate cream cheese sounds amazing with this cake! Thank you so much for commenting! <3
Judy Felder says
I made this cake a few days ago and am sad to say it was a major fail. The first go around, the cake rose nicely in the oven and collapsed as soon as I took the layers out of the oven. You could see and feel how totally dense it was. So, I started over from scratch, following the directions to the letter. The next two layers also rose in the oven and collapsed only slightly less than the first two. I made the frosting–which is totally fabulous, by the way–and went ahead and frosted all four layers. When we cut it, ugly is the only word that fits how the layers looked inside. In spite of my red food coloring, it was a drab beige color, and the first two layers I had made were as dense as a sponge. The other two were marginally better and at least had a decent flavor. I had checked my baking powder before starting, so I know it was good. The internet suggested too much liquid or overbeating. I’m leaning towards too much liquid, because the pureed strawberries did make a soupier batter. The cake was for my niece’s birthday, and I ended up wishing I had used a white cake mix and some strawberry jello. . .
Amanda says
I’m gonna make this cake today, for my mom and daughters birthday, it doesn’t say but should I sift the flour with the salt and baking soda before mixing with wet ingredients
Sam says
Whisk the dry ingredients together before adding to the wet. I hope that helps!
Virginia says
Does this cake have to be refrigerated
Sam says
Yes, I would refrigerate.
James says
I followed the recipe..the cake had an unleveled playing field……
Sam says
If it is uneven it probably needed to be mixed better. It is a delicate balance to strike between neither over or under mixing, I know!
Kirsten says
Hi Sam, will it be okay if I don’t use the sour cream??
Sam says
Hi Kirsten, I wouldn’t recommend skipping the sour cream, it helps keep the cake nice and moist.
Deborah says
This is a horrible recipe! While the cake had good flavor it does NOT rise and looks like a wet sponge. I thought I had done something wrong and made it twice with the same result.
Sam says
Deborah, I am truly sorry you disliked the cake so much. First it might not be a bad idea to check that your baking powder is good just to make sure that isn’t the issue with it rising. However, this cake is nice and moist and denser than just about any other cake I’ve developed since then (the fresh strawberries will do that). It won’t come out tasting like a store-bought mix made with jello or with that same texture because the chemistry is simply different. I am glad, however, that at least you found the flavor to be appealing, and as always I appreciate the feedback.
Steph says
I had the same result! Thought I had missed something in the recipe!
Jayme says
Thank you thank thank you for a delicious recipe without jello! Going to be hard to save the second cake for our party tomorrow! Do you think this recipe would work with other berries too? Like blueberries?
Sam says
I’m SO glad that you loved it, Jayme! I haven’t tried it with other berries before… I would be hesitant with blueberries because their texture is quite a bit different than strawberries, but I think a berry like a raspberry would probably be ok. If you try it with another berry I would love to hear how it turns out! Thanks so much for commenting! 🙂
Mel says
So I stumbled across this recipe looking for recipes to use my fresh strawberries (somehow I came home with 10lbs) from the farmers market.
I followed the recipe exactly, but instead made cupcakes. It comes out to a bakers 3 dozen (37 cupcakes). Deliciousness!!
I was also able to calculate the nutritional information for the whole batter, using 36 cupcakes as the output. So 1 cupcake w/out frosting: 171 calories, fat 7.2g, cholesterol 13mg, sodium 65.3mg, carb 21.1g, protein 1.6g.
Thanks Sam, they’re perfect. Will definitely be making these again.
Sam says
10 lbs of farmer’s market strawberries!? I would be in HEAVEN! I’m so, so glad that you liked this recipe, Mel, and thank you for commenting and sharing the nutritional information, too!
Name says
What temperature &how long did it take the cupcakes to bake a
Jane says
Has anybody made this at high altitude?
Sam says
Hi Jane, I never have so I can’t speak to this, but hopefully someone else with experience cooking at high altitude may be able to provide guidance.
Mel says
I just made this at 2360 ft above sea level..if thats what you mean. They’re amazing!
Amber says
I just made this for my daughters birthday and it was soooooo good! We’re vegetarian but I try to eat vegan as often as possible and I veganized this recipe by using almond milk and bananas in place of the eggs. I can’t wait for my sons birthday because I’m making it again! So so so tasty!
Sam says
It makes my day to get comments like this, so glad to hear that you liked it, Amber! Love how you “veganized” it, too! 🙂
Kim says
Hi Amber, I’d love your veganized versions. How many bananas did you use instead of egg? Was it super dense?
Amber says
I use a half banana per egg. It was dense, but it was so good! My daughter requested it again for her next birthday.
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Nothing wrong with cake for breakfast! Especially if it’s this delicious strawberry cake! So happy strawberries are back in season. Can’t wait to make this! My husbands birthday is coming up, and he would just love this : )
Sam says
Thanks Natalie! I hope you guys like it 🙂
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
Hello Strawberry! This looks amazing! I’d be eating this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yum 😀
Sam says
Thanks Cindy!! 🙂