Like Strawberry Wine...

Every once in a while, I read a recipe and want whatever it is immediately.  Well, ok, that actually happens a lot but I usually hold off and just create a stash of recipes that I refer to when I’m at a loss of what to make.  I found this cake recipe the other day though and read the ingredients – I had everything at home already, so I was making this cake…

Most people opt for chocolate cake or vanilla cake or even red velvet or carrot.  I have always had an affinity for strawberry cake.  More times than not, it’s what I had for my birthday every year as a kid.  And yes, I’m even talking about that bright pink boxed version – deeelish.

This recipe sounded great, it includes yogurt which gives a nice background tang and keeps it moist (ewww, hate that word), and requires you to roast the berries…I’d never heard of doing that, but I think it worked as the berry flavor really came through.  This is like the adult version of that boxed cake – I think I’m officially ready to move on.

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from www.brighteyedbaker.com

3 cups halved strawberries

1 ½ Tbsp granulated sugar (I omitted)

3 cups AP Flour, spooned and swept (I used 2 cups AP and 1 cup white whole wheat)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 extra large eggs, plus 1 yolk

½ cup plain yogurt (I used nonfat Greek yogurt)

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp red food coloring (I omitted)

Topping

1 cup white chocolate chips

¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º.  Place the strawberries in a large baking dish and sprinkle with the 1 ½ Tbsp sugar. (I left this sugar out, just didn’t seem necessary since there is so much in the cake).  Roast for about 10-15 min, then remove from oven and set aside to cool for about 15 min.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325º.  Grease a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. 

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until even in color and texture and the mixture has lightened in color slightly.  Add the eggs one at a time, then add the yolk, vanilla extract and food coloring, beating just until well mixed.

In a blender, puree the strawberries and yogurt then add to the sugar mixture and beat on low speed or stir to combine.  Sift and slowly add the flour mixture just until combined.  Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the greased pan making sure to evenly distribute.  Tap the pan on the counter a couple times to eliminate any air bubbles.  Bake in a preheated oven for 50-55 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  I started checking the cake after about 45 minutes and checked every 4-5 minutes thereafter.  When done, let cool in the pan for about 15 min, then careful tap the pan over a cooling rack to release and cool completely.

After about 20 minutes, make the white chocolate ganache by slowly melting the chips into the heavy cream. (I did this in 25 second increments in the microwave)  Let cool enough for the mixture to thicken slightly then pour over the cake.  Let set before serving.

*NOTES*  I only had frozen fruit and on top of that, I only had 2 cups of strawberries so I added 1 cup of blueberries.  It took a little longer to roast the fruit since it was frozen, but it worked just fine.  Blueberries are a dominant flavor and color, hence my cake being more gray-purple than pink, but the taste was amazing.  I’ll definitely make this again with only strawberries though.  Also, I think other toppings would work well on this cake – perhaps a simple vanilla or lemon powdered sugar glaze, or even a cream cheese glaze.  I’m starting to crave this again just by talking about it.  Experiment and enjoy!