Strawberry Cake

My sister-in-law's birthday is July 1st, and Walter's is July 31st. Because of this, they usually have a joint party in mid-July to celebrate both.

Strawberry Cake



I found the recipe for this cake here at Country Living. It was well-loved, very moist with a great strawberry flavor. I do wish I had added more food coloring than I did, because it was not as pink as I wanted it to be, but that is purely an aesthetic issue that nobody seemed to mind.

I used marshmallow fondant to cover and decorate. I used the star imprint mat from Wilton to get the star design on the cake--it was really easy to work with, but I do suggest spraying the mat with nonstick cooking spray before you use it. It's a silicone mat and very easy to clean. I liked it a lot.

I used vanilla cream for the filling and placed fresh strawberry slices between the layers. It was a perfect summer cake.

Ingredients
-2 1/2 cups cake flour
-1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-3/4 cup butter, softened
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-1 cup strawberry preserves
-4 eggs
-3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/8 teaspoon red food coloring
-1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9- or 10-inch cake pans and set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.
3. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add strawberry preserves and vanilla and mix well.
4. Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add dry mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating buttermilk between additions, beginning and ending with the dry mixture and beating well after each addition. Add food coloring and mix well.
6. Divide batter evenly among cake pans. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes or until a pick inserted in the cake's center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.