Strawberry Cake

[Naethyn]

Anyone know any good strawberry cake recipes?

Tyty

[Evermore]

im allergic to strawberries. bleh cause i love them

[leah]

[Trielelvan]

ACK Ever that sucks ><

How adept are you in the kitchen Naethyn?
Just to clarify, are you looking for strawberry cake or strawberry shortcake?

Leah's suggestion is actually a good one, and I use box mixes + pizazz when I don't have time to make from scratch.
Here is what I do to this (note: this is not diet food,k? but it tastes out of this world)

1 box strawberry or white cake mix cake mix (depending on how strong you want the flavor)
1 pint half&half or heavy cream
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
4 eggs, seperated
1 cup mashed strawberries
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest (optional but I recommend it)

Here's what you do:

FIRST: Set your oven to 350F at least 20 minutes before you bake the cake.
Prepare your cake pans: be sure to butter the sides and flour them, or use Baker's Joy and spray them well. I recommend a bundt pan for this. It comes out beautifully.

1. Sift the dry cake mix (Yes. Sift it. You'd be surprised what a difference this makes) into a large bowl and set aside.

2. In a VERY CLEAN medium bowl, put in the egg whites and beat until they form soft peaks.

2. In yet another bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are lemon colored, then add half&half or cream, zest, and the mashed berries.

3. Slowly start mixing the dry cake mix into the egg & cream mixture.
Once incorporated, use an electric mixer on medium speed, add the stick of softened butter, and mix for about 2 minutes. The batter will become nice and thick.

4. Using a rubber spatula, take a scoop of the whipped egg whites and gently fold them into the batter. Do this slowly one scoop at a time, and be sure to fold, not mix around. It should be a little marbly, not completely uniform.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake in the center of the oven. See the box's recommendation for baking time. If you are using a bundt pan, I suggest checking after 35 minutes.
Cake is done when a toothpick test comes out clean.

Make sure to let this cake cool completely before cutting into it.
It is a very rich, melt-in-your-mouth moist, light cake.
If you want to frost it, use whatever you choose. I only have one person for whom I make this cake as strawberry is their favorite, and this person HATES frosting, so I serve it with a big dollop of whipped cream. It's delicious.

[leah]

jesus lord almighty i really want some cake. thanks a lot, guys. :P

[Evermore]

never bake with cold eggs

[Naethyn]

Eh, I usually stick to the grill and meat portions of our meals lol.

I'm making my GF make it for my birthday. She doesn't know any strawberry ones. We'll see what happens omg!

[Arlos]

Pie >>>>>>> Cake!

That is all.

[Maeya]

1. Sift the dry cake mix (Yes. Sift it. You'd be surprised what a difference this makes) into a large bowl and set aside.

Hmm. For all cakes or just this one in particular?

[leah]

i am really on the fence in the whole cake vs. pie debate. i think each has its own purpose: i would not want a birthday pie, for example.

plus, it really depends on the cake or pie in question. pecan pie > chocolate cake, but yellow cake with chocolate frosting > apple pie.

[ClakarEQ]

1. Sift the dry cake mix (Yes. Sift it. You'd be surprised what a difference this makes) into a large bowl and set aside.

Hmm. For all cakes or just this one in particular?

This should go for most baked goods, Trie is right in that sifting can make a big difference let alone getting out the clumps. Although many pancake, brownies, muffins, etc the opposite is somewhat true and you don't want to sift (lumps can be a good thing in those batters)

[Trielelvan]

1. Sift the dry cake mix (Yes. Sift it. You'd be surprised what a difference this makes) into a large bowl and set aside.

Hmm. For all cakes or just this one in particular?

ALWAYS sift the dry ingredients is my motto, especially if you are baking from scratch.
Not only does it eliminate the possibility of lumps of any kind (flour, baking powder/soda... yuck), but it also aerates the flour which yields a more even, tender product.

Thank you Ever! - Unless it specifically calls for cold eggs, always bake an emulsified fat product with eggs that have reached at least room temp. It's a good idea to let them sit in a bowl of warm water for a bit if you can. Cold eggs break the fat/liquid emulsion and results in a cracked, dry crumbly cake. If you want it moist, ALWAYS use warmed up eggs.

(edit) Hah, Clakar the ninja lol

I disagree: all dry ingredients are sifted, even for pancakes, brownies, muffins - BUT! You must not overmix these batters. Just mix enough to combine the ingredients, then call it good.
Overmixing is what eliminates the lumpiness which you do indeed want because you want as little gluten-bonding as possible, or they will be tough and resemble something closer to bread than the fluffy things they're supposed to be.

[leah]

please come bake for me. please?

[Trielelvan]

lol next time I swing through Nebraska, I'll be sure to stop by in Lincoln and bring treats

[ClakarEQ]

Alton Brown would say not to sift every baked good, just some. However I do agree with you in that if you're making stuff from complete scratch, then yeah, sift it, I was talking more about hte boxed short cut stuff you make. I'm sure you know the man because he breaks down everything he cooks to molecular levels

I'm very familiar with all cooking techniques, not a great chef myself but I'm a food network fanboi since it was first introduced back in '95 or so.

[Trielelvan]

Hellz yes, AB ftw~ I just love him.

Yeah, that I can mostly agree with. The box mixes are really made to just be dumped and thrown together, and still end up yummy goodness (in fact, my great-grandmother's dump cake is exactly that... 1 can of fruit cocktail in a cake pan + 1 box of yellow cake mix dumped on top, place like 8 tbsp of butter all over the top, and bake. Really sloppy, but amazingly good LOL), so it's not absolutely necessary.
For home, I don't always go through the hoops to sift the box mixes either and it, of course, still comes out plenty good.
However, when I am making something for someone, I take every measured step to ensure they are getting something worth remembering, and even if I'm using shortcuts, I want a superior product to what you get from just using boxed instructions, and sifting is one extra step that ensures you will get that superior product.

Of course, I fail to see that it matters in this case since he's probably going to just smear the cake all over his girlfriend before he eats it

[Naethyn]

[ClakarEQ]

Of course, I fail to see that it matters in this case since he's probably going to just smear the cake all over his girlfriend before he eats it

RIght on the money, but I'd rather him smear the frosting not the cake LOL .
Nate, post pics bro /evilgrin