Fresh Strawberry Cake with Swiss Meringue Frosting
As most of you know this weekend was the start of a week of baking for me. My children have their birthdays 3 days apart and, with each one wanting a cake or cupcakes for school, a cake for the day of their birthday and a cake for the party, I usually end up baking the whole week.
Zoe, who turned 5 yesterday, is a real strawberry monster so it wasn’t very hard to decide what kind of cake she would enjoy for her birthday. I have so many recipes that I have collected that I have quite a collection to choose from. I chose this recipe because of its inclusion of fresh strawberries and it was very well received. I had also never made Swiss Meringue frosting before so this was the “challenging” part of making the cake.
I found the recipe over here and there was something about this cake that made it extra special. I think the fresh fruit in both the frosting and the cake made it less sweet than you usually would expect from a pink birthday cake and it was very satisfying. Since this recipe was originally created for cupcakes, I extended the baking time by about 10 minutes but do use your discretion and start checking from about 25 minutes as your oven may differ from mine. When I make a cake from a cupcake recipe it sometimes has to bake for as long as 40 minutes depending on the mixture.
Fresh Strawberry Cake with Swiss Meringue Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 825ml cake flour
- 15ml baking powder
- 5ml salt
- 220g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 560ml sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 250ml milk
- 7.5ml vanilla extract
- 500ml strawberries, finely chopped, plus small strawberries for garnish
Strawberry Buttercream:
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 450ml sugar
- 330gunsalted butter, cut into small blocks and at room temperature
- 375ml fresh strawberries, pureed
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C and prep 2 round cake tins with non stick cooking spray. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Reduce speed to low. Mix remaining wet ingredients in small bowl and set aside. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter between cake tins leaving enough space for the mixture to rise while baking..
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes testing by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake to see if it is cooked through. Allow to cool in tins on wire racks.
Strawberry buttercream:
- Place whites and sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees celcius on a candy thermometer.
- Remove from heat, and attach bowl to a mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking well after each addition.
- Switch to a paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add strawberry puree, and beat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Use immediately, or cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)
Fresh Strawberry Cake with Swiss Meringue Frosting
November 5, 2012 at 9:12 am[…] To see how I made it, please visit rumtumtiggs.co.za […]
Zirkie
November 5, 2012 at 9:55 amIt looks delisious and gorgeous, Tami!
rumtumtiggs
November 5, 2012 at 3:15 pmThank you for the comment Zirkie. It was very well received and I’m glad I made Swiss Meringue Frosting now I can check it off my to do list. It’s nice and light and not too sweet 😉 xx
Baglady
November 5, 2012 at 3:05 pmHi Tami,
What is the difference between all purpose and cake flour? I always thought they were the same thing.
rumtumtiggs
November 5, 2012 at 3:14 pmI remember reading somewhere that all purpose flour has a higher wheat content so it makes it fine for general use (?) but not really baking. I just used cake flour for both measurements and it turned out fine. I haven’t seen an “all purpose flour” in South Africa yet so I’m not sure if it exists here (I stand to be corrected though) :). Thanks for the comment.