Best Ever Strawberry Cake

This type of strawberry cake recipe with all-natural strawberry flavoring (no gelatin) is quite rare and difficult to find. This strawberry cake tastes light and fresh, never too sweet. A truly excellent recipe that always turns out fluffy and oh-so moist. Topped with the rich and delicious cream cheese frosting, this cake is truly the best ever. It was a handwritten recipe I found in my mom's recipe book, but I assume she found it elsewhere.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Calories: 641 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 ¾ cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
• ¼ cup 2% milk
• 1 cup pureed strawberries

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

Step 3

Mix pureed strawberries, milk, eggs, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract together in a small bowl; transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 4

Beat flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt into strawberry mixture on Low; add butter and continue beating on Low until evenly combined.

Step 5

Stop mixer, scrape sides, and beat again for about 30 seconds.

Step 6

Divide batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.

Step 7

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes; transfer to wire racks to completely cool, about 30 minutes.

Step 8

Beat cream cheese and butter together in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually beat confectioners' sugar into cream cheese mixture until creamy and fluffy; stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Step 9

Spread about 1/2 the frosting on top of 1 cake. Place second cake on top of frosting layer; spread the remaining frosting on top of second cake and around sides of both cakes.