This easy white cake is filled with a bold strawberry filling and covered in smooth vanilla buttercream; there isn’t much better. The flavors are simple, yet after taking a bite you just can’t get over how special it really it. The strawberry filling adds a nice tartness that is evened out by the sweetness of the buttercream, and the cake ties everything together perfectly. This cake would be great for birthdays, wedding showers, anniversary dinners, really any type of celebration you can think of!
Last year I put together two posts that detail any and everything that you may need to know when it comes to baking a cake. The information spans everything in the process from prepping your cake pans to leveling and storing your cakes after baking. Then, I went into detail on how to stack and decorate your cake with buttercream for a crisp and clean finish. You will find step by step instructions and plenty of how-to photos. Be sure to check them out before you begin baking to help grow your cake baking confidence!
Cake Baking Tips and Tricks
Decorating with Buttercream
There are several components to this cake, so let’s dive right in. This white cake is fairly uncomplicated, and, as an added bonus, you don’t even have to use a mixer to make it.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until cohesive – eggs, egg whites, sour cream, vanilla, and oil.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together just until combined, being careful not to over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly into 2 prepared 8” round cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes.
Let the cakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Be sure to let the cakes cool completely before stacking and frosting your cake.
To make the fresh strawberry filling, first wash and roughly chop the strawberries. Add them to a food processor or blender with sugar and a bit of lemon juice and blend until finely pureed. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and stir often while simmering for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is thickened. This may seem like a slow process, but progress is being made as the liquid from the strawberries is slowly evaporating. Once thickened, let the sauce cool completely before adding it to the cake.
The final component of this cake is the buttercream. This is my go to vanilla buttercream recipe which I absolutely love. Using a stand mixer, cream together softened butter and shortening. Then, gradually mix in about half of the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and alternate mixing in the remaining powdered sugar and water. For extra smooth consistency, you can sift the powdered sugar before mixing it in and also stir the finished buttercream with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. It’s a bit of a workout, but this will help get out any air bubbles in the icing and create a smooth finish on the outside of the cake!
Once all of the cake components are cooled and ready to go, we can stack and decorate the cake! Like I mentioned earlier, I have a complete how-to on this in my “Decorating with Buttercream” post linked above. The only special thing you need to know about this cake has to do with the strawberry filling. I didn’t want my filling to slowly seep into the cake layers and disappear, so when stacking the cake a put a relatively shallow layer of buttercream down to sort of seal the cake layer below. Then, I spread the strawberry filling on top of the buttercream. It works perfectly and several days later I still have a defined layer of strawberry filling in my cake.
I chose to decorate my cake fairly simply with a smooth layer of butter cream around the sides and then several huge sweeping towers of buttercream on top boasting big strawberries. I didn’t want it to be a secret that there was a delicious layer of strawberry filling hiding inside the cake!
This cake is quite delicious, and I’m so happy to share it with you all today. If you aren’t a fan of strawberry, you can sub in another flavor or skip it and enjoy a classic white cake. I can’t wait to see what you all bake up with this one! Happy baking and enjoy!
Anna
Thanks for joining us this month for our Kitchen Confidence: Baking Basics Challenge and Giveaway! We hope you learned many new things and feel prepared to get in the kitchen and start baking!
White Cake
A simple yet delicious white cake recipe that is sure to pair perfectly with your favorite fillings and buttercream.
Source: thelittlebluemixer.wordpress.com
Course: Kitchen Confidence: Baking Basics
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 28 min
Total Time: 43 min
Serves:
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3⁄4 cup oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, sour cream, oil, and vanilla
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until combined
- Divide the batter evenly into 2 prepared 8” pans
- Bake at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes
- Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely before frosting
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Strawberry Filling
Made with simple ingredients and real fruit, this strawberry reduction filling will add the perfect, sweet tartness to your cake.
Source: thelittlebluemixer.wordpress.com
Course: Kitchen Confidence: Baking Basics
Cuisine: American
Main Ingredient: Fruit
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 30 min
Serves:
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 lb strawberries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
- Yield: Enough filling for a 2 layer 8" cake. For 3+ layer cakes, double or triple the recipe appropriately.
- Wash and roughly chop strawberries
- In a food processor or blender, add strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and finely puree
- Pour mixture into small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and stir often while simmering for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.
- Let cool completely before adding to the cake
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Vanilla Buttercream
A delicious buttercream with smooth texture that makes it perfect for decorating cakes.
Source: thelittlebluemixer.wordpress.com
Course: Kitchen Confidence: Baking Basics
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 15 min
Serves:
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1⁄2 cup crisco shortening
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 teaspoons water (or milk)
Directions
- Using a stand mixer, cream together butter and shortening.
- Gradually mix in about half of the powdered sugar.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- Alternate mixing in the remaining powdered sugar and water.
- Enjoy!
- For extra smooth consistency, (1) sift the powdered sugar before mixing in and (2) stir the finished buttercream with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. This will help get out any air bubbles in the icing and create a smooth finish on the outside of the cake!
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