Strawberry Layer Cake
Three layers of fluffy pink strawberry cake with strawberry jam and creamy Ermine Frosting.
Servings: 14
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300g) ripe strawberries halved
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tea fresh lemon zest
- 1 tea fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ tea salt
For the Strawberry Cake
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teas baking soda
- 1 teas salt
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 teas pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup (180ml) reduced strawberry puree
- pink gel food color
For the Ermine Frosting
- ½ cup (63g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (480mml) whole milk
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teas salt
- 2 cups (454g) unsalted butter softened
- 2 teas pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup strawberry jam
Instructions
For the Strawberry Puree
- Place all of the ingredients in a small food processor and process until smooth.
- Pour the purée into a small or medium saucepan and place over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Lower the heat to low and cook, occasionally stirring, until the purée reduces down to about ¾ cup (180 ml). The purée will become thick and jammy. It will take 30 to 60 minutes to reduce over low heat.
- Allow the purée to cool before using in the cake.
For the Strawberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three, 8-inch round cake pans and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on medium-low speed, add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time allowing each to combine before adding the next. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add about half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stream in the milk, followed by the strawberry purée and a few drops of food coloring, and mix until the liquids are absorbed. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined. Mix on low speed no more than 30 seconds.
- Evenly distribute the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing them from their pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely before filling and frosting.
For the Ermine Frosting
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the milk into the flour until smooth. Heat the mixture, while whisking slowly but constantly, over medium heat until it reaches a thick, pudding-like consistency, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Pour the mixture into a heat-safe container or shallow bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (in the refrigerator to speed things up). It should be the same temperature as the softened butter before moving on to the next step.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Begin adding in the cooled flour mixture, a couple tablespoons at a time, until fully incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Switch to the whisk attachment and gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the frosting together until light and fluffy, 2 to 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla extract. Continue to mix on low speed for a few additional minutes to smooth it out. When done, the frosting should feel light on the tongue but smooth and silky when spread over the top of a cake.
To Assemble
- Reserve about ¾ cup of the frosting and set aside. Tint the remaining frosting pink, or the color of your choice. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip with some of the pink frosting and set aside.
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, trim the tops with a serrated knife until flat, if necessary. Place the bottom layer of cake on a cake board, serving dish, or rotating cake stand. Pipe a ring of frosting around the top edge of the cake. Fill the ring with about ½ cup of frosting and spread it out with an offset spatula. While spreading the frosting, gently press down with the spatula (or the back of a spoon) in the center to create a shallow “bowl” of frosting, the edges matching up with the piped frosting “dam” around the edges.
- Fill the middle of the frosting with ¼ cup strawberry jam and spread until smooth. Top the filling with a second layer of cake and repeat. Flip the final layer of cake upside down and place on top of the cake. Gently press down to secure and make sure the sides of the cake are straight.
- Fill in any gaps between the layers with frosting. It is very important that none of the strawberry jam squeezes out between the layers of cake.
- Crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Smoothly frost the cake with the remaining frosting. To finish, gently touch the tip of the offset spatula to the side of the cake (near the bottom). As you spin the cake stand, gradually move the spatula up the side of the cake to create the wavey texture. Clean off the top of the cake by gently pulling the excess frosting around the edges towards the center of the cake with a small offset spatula.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a French Star Tip with the reserved plain buttercream. Pipe star “kisses” around the top edge of the frosted cake. Place a cut strawberry on each dollop and finish with a sprinkle of sugar pearls.
Notes
- Store leftover cake in the refrigerator in a cake box wrapped in plastic wrap. If you do not have a box, press a piece of plastic wrap directly to the cut sides of the cake and gently drape it over the frosting.
- Serve the cake at room temperature. Make sure to give it ample time out of the refrigerator to ensure that the frosting is soft and silky when served.
- The cake is best eaten within 3 days.