Even people who don’t have a sweet tooth cannot resist a good piece of cake. For such people (I am one of those), I have perfected this eggless strawberry cake with luscious cream cheese and butter frosting generously spread over and around two loaves of buttery cake. This recipe uses over one pound of fresh strawberries, about one pound of butter, and 3.5 ounces of cream cheese.
I use salted butter in this recipe. I know, all bakers call for unsalted butter in their recipes to have control over the amount of salt in the recipe but I use the salted version to balance the extra sweetness. I don’t use salt in the ingredients. Now you can disagree with me, but it works brilliantly for people who don’t want the sugar to overpower their cakes and other baked goods.
There are two ways to make this eggless strawberry cake: You can make it with the regular wet and dry ingredients mixed in a bowl method for a moist result, or you whisk butter and sugar together and then mix everything for a buttery crumb.
For this recipe, I used the latter technique. It was a bit more time-consuming but I loved the crumbly result.
Prep Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 3 hours and 25 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy
Note: I used salted butter to balance the sweetness of the cake. You can substitute it for an unsalted version.
Ingredients:
For the Cake
- 2.4 cups of all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt (when using unsalted butter)
- 7 oz. salted butter (200 grams)
- 1 ½ granulated sugar (300 grams)
- ½ cup milk (100 ml)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 lbs. fresh strawberries (pureed and reduced)
- 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil (40 ml)
- Red food coloring (optional)
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese and Butter Frosting
- 3.5 oz. of cream cheese (100 grams)
- 7 oz. of salted butter (200 grams)
- 1 ½ lbs. powdered sugar sifted (680 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Strawberry puree (Leftover from the cake)
Instructions:
For the Cake
- Prepare Strawberry Puree and Let it Cool: Chop and puree fresh strawberries. Then reduce over medium heat while stirring slowly and constantly. It should be the consistency of a thick sauce. You need to let it cool down completely before adding it to your cake batter. (It works best to do this step the previous day as it can take a considerable amount of cooling time depending on the size of your cake)
- Prepare Wet Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Take out your hand mixer or stand mixer. Beat the room-temperature butter until creamy. Whisk in the granulated sugar until light and airy. Then add the vanilla extract and oil and whisk on medium-low setting until well combined. Divide the strawberry reduction, put half in the mixer, and let it all come together.
- Put in the dry ingredients: Sift the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Scrap down the sides of the mixer bowl with a silicone spatula and add small amounts of the dry ingredients alternating with milk and whisking away at a low setting. At this point, you can add food coloring if you desire
- Pour and Bake: Line two 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Pour the batter equally into the pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let the cakes cool down for 20 minutes inside the pans. Then remove and cool on a wire rack
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese and Butter Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, room-temperature butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Should take about 5-7 minutes depending on the mixer
- Then add the powdered sugar alternating with the strawberry reduction and whisking on low setting. Once all the sugar is added, beat the mixture on a medium setting until airy. If the frosting feels stiff, you can add a tablespoon or two of milk to smooth it out
Assembly and Decoration
- Once the cake and frosting are ready, it is time to assemble. Add a spoonful of frosting on the stand and place a layer. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting on the bottom layer
- Place the second layer atop the frosted layer. Scoop out the rest of the frosting on it. Take a spatula or palette knife to swipe, press, and drag the frosting evenly on the cake until it is completely covered
I like the rustic effect created with a palette knife and topped with sliced fresh strawberries.
If you want and have a good handle on the frosting pipe, you can decorate the cake with different patterns and designs. Now cut and serve. Cover the leftover cake and store it at room temperature for up to three days.
Let me know if you give this recipe a try. This eggless strawberry cake is the perfect dessert recipe to celebrate the arrival of spring or for Valentine’s Day.
Follow Homecrux on Google News!
