Fresh Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing

This is the real deal! After scouring my all my cookbooks and countless recipes online, I developed a recipe for homemade strawberry cake, no gelatin required! This cake has a wonderful, fresh strawberry taste similar to the flavor combination of strawberry shortcake in a delicate pink layer cake. The color and the flavor are subtle yet delicious. No neon pink here! Just fantastic strawberry flavor. I served this at my daughter's sixth birthday with friends and family and everyone loved it, describing it as 'bakery quality'.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 543 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups white sugar
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 6 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 pints fresh strawberries
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 drops red food coloring (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans that are at least 1 1/2 inches high.

Step 2

Sprinkle strawberries with sugar in a bowl and let sit for at least 20 minutes, or until juices accumulate.

Step 3

Puree strawberries in a blender until smooth and set aside.

Step 4

Combine sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup strawberry puree, oil, strawberry extract, and food coloring. Mix well. Add flour, gently folding until well mixed. Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 30 minutes.

Step 6

Make the frosting while the cakes cool. Combine confectioners' sugar, butter, heavy cream, 4 tablespoons of strawberry puree, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Whip thoroughly, adding more puree to color and taste as needed.

Step 7

Sandwich cake layers with frosting. Cover the top and sides with remaining frosting.