Strawberry Cornmeal Cake
Strawberry Cornmeal Cake- sounds weird, but it’s soooo good. You might remember I made a cornmeal cake before, and it’s almost like a form of coffee cake.
I mean, technically it’s not, but it gives you that similar feel of a very hearty, only lightly sweet cake. It’s a great breakfast cake, and if that’s not already a thing in your life, are you even living? I mean, let’s be honest, I’ll eat ANY kind of cake and call it breakfast cake, but this is more sensible.
The cornmeal creates an interesting texture, even though we’re only using a quarter cup. And I don’t like a dry cake, so I’ve added sour cream here to get to a tender crumb. You can replace that with greek yogurt, or even mayonnaise- I know that sounds weird, but I promise it works totally fine, and won’t make your cake taste weird.
So strawberries are in season, and it’s a great time to bake with them. I’ve sliced them pretty thick here, you want to have substantial strawberry flavor in the cake. When strawberries bake into a cake, they often actually seem to lose a little flavor, so don’t skimp here. My strawberries were pretty big, and sliced them into thirds for this cake.
And we’re topping things off with coarse sugar. I do this a lot with un-frosted cakes. The coarse sugar will bake into the cake just slightly, and it gives you a nice crunch on top to vary up the textures in your cake. Be generous here, it’s worth it!
Last but far from least in my book, I topped each slice of cake with a dollop of whipped cream. Strawberries and cream are not new, and it goes perfectly here. Do whipped cream, do ice cream, or eat the cake plain- it’s going to be wonderful no matter what! Enjoy guys!
Strawberry Cornmeal Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 5-6 large strawberries, hulled and sliced thick
- 2 tbs. coarse sugar
- 1 cup sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and generously grease an 8x8 inch cake pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to help remove the cake after it bakes. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract, eggs, and sour cream until smooth.
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Add in the flour, salt, cornmeal, and baking powder. Beat until completely combined. The batter will be fairly thick. Spread evenly in the prepared baking pan. Lay the thick slices of strawberries in rows on the cake, 4 in each row and column.
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Sprinkle the coarse sugar evenly over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top has become lightly brown. Cool completely in the pan, and slice into 16 pieces. Top with whipped cream or ice cream as desired to serve. Enjoy!
Strawberry Layer Cake
Hey guys!! I hope you’re swinging into Monday easy today, and that you’re in the mood for cake! I’m going for another loaf layer cake today because I think they are completely beautiful, and also a totally reasonable size.
This cake is fairly light on the frosting as well. Okay also though, I’ve tried a lot of ways to make strawberry cake. A LOT. and it’s always seemed like no matter how many fresh strawberries I manage to jam into a cake batter, it always comes out not tasting like strawberry. So, this cake actually uses freeze-dried strawberries in the cake and frosting. This results in a super strawberry-tasting cake in the end.
I can always find freeze dried strawberries in the snack section of my grocery store, along with other freeze dried fruit (interesting flavor options here). The dried berries are getting ground up into a powder here. I use a small food processor, but you could do it in batches in a spice grinder, or a blender would even get the job done. You just want them finely ground.
The cake is super simple, and I’m once again using an ermine frosting today. I love this type of frosting because it results in a light, fluffy, super spreadable frosting, and you don’t need powdered sugar or egg whites to do it! You’ll want to cook the flour paste ahead of time and let it cool completely- this step is extremely important, so don’t try to add it in before it’s cooled!
I used a piping bag to create that pretty star effect on the frosting, but that’s optional. Frost this bad boy any way you like, or whatever is the fastest way so you can enjoy it immediately!
Strawberry Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup powdered freeze dried strawberries
- 1/4 cup milk
For the frosting:
- 3 tbs. flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered freeze dried strawberries
Instructions
For the cake:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a 9 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, and sour cream until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered freeze dried strawberries. Beat until combined- the batter will be very thick. Add in the milk, and beat until smooth.
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Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
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In a small saucepan, cook the flour and milk until a thick paste forms. Stir the mixture constantly while it cooks. Remove from heat and cool completely before continuing.
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In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar for 5-10 minutes, until very fluffy and light in color. Beat in the cooled flour mixture and mix for another 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy. Add in the powdered strawberries and salt, and mix to combine. Frost as desired!
Classic Lemon Layer Cake
Hey guys! We’re back in it for the week, but hopefully with cake, amirite?
Today I’m sharing a recipe for a classic lemon layer cake that I really love, and it’s perfect for Spring!
You guys may have seen me talking about ermine frosting a lot lately, and it’s really my new favorite frosting. For one thing, on a pretty regular basis I forget to buy powdered sugar, which means no American buttercream. And I also don’t always have all the eggs needed to make a Swiss meringue (although I do LOVE those!). Ermine solves all the problems you guys. It’s a basic frosting, but kind of old fashioned and not as popular these days.
You start by cooking flour and milk to make a thick paste. This needs to cool completely, and I’m being serious here- if you don’t let it cool completely, the frosting will not work! Meanwhile, you need to beat butter and sugar for a LONG time, be patient guys. You want the butter to have fully lightened through and through, and for the sugar to be mostly dissolved. This takes about 5-10 minutes of beating!
Then, you blend ’em together and beat the mixture for several minutes until it becomes very fluffy. This frosting is the texture of whipped cream somehow, but its lightly sweet! For the lemon version, we’re putting a generous amount of lemon zest into the paste mixture!
Fluffy lemon cakes are filled with a big glob of lemon curd- you can use homemade lemon curd or buy a jar for this cake!
This time around I went for a classic two-layer 8-inch cake for this one. I think pretty much everyone should have 8-inch cake pans in their pantry, and it’s got that classic look. It’s super easy to put together, and it tastes fresh, bright, and lemony! Enjoy this one guys, you deserve it!
Classic Lemon Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the cakes:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 tbs. lemon zest (from about 4-5 lemons)
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4-5 lemons)
For the frosting:
- 6 tbs. flour
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tbs. lemon zest (from about 4-5 lemons)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon curd
Instructions
For the cakes:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and generously grease two 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Then add the sour cream.
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Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat until combined. The batter will be very thick. Slowly beat in the lemon juice and lemon zest, and beat until a smooth batter forms. Pour evenly into your cake pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
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In a small saucepan, cook the flour, milk, salt, and lemon zest until a thick paste forms. You'll want to stir the mixture constantly while heating over medium heat. Remove from heat, and cool the mixture COMPLETELY before continuing.
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In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture is noticeably lighter in color, and the sugar has mostly dissolved.
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Beat in the flour mixture, and beat until it becomes light and fluffy. It will separate during this process, just keep beating.
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To frost the cake, place one cake on your plate, and pipe a ring of frosting around the edge to act as a barrier for the lemon curd. Spread the lemon curd in the middle of the cake evenly. Top with the second cake, and frost as desired. Enjoy!
Chantilly Cake
Hey guys! Happy Easter weekend!!
In the spirit of spring, I’ve got a Chantilly Cake for you guys today, filled with lots of beautiful berries, sweetened whipped cream, and a fluffy vanilla cake. It’s simple, beautiful, and really tasty.
You guys may have heard claims about the Whole Foods Chantilly Cake, or maybe you’re even one of the die-hard followers of this beauty. I have a confession- I’ve never actually had it. I know, if you love them you’ll be gasping right now.
So that being said, I can’t exactly promise that this cake is like that cake. But I CAN promise that this cake is super delicious. I mean, and what’s not to like?
Here’s the one thing you’ll want to be careful about here- Chantilly Cakes are frosted with whipped cream, and while I’ve added cream cheese to provide some stabilization, it’s still not the strongest standing cake ever, so be aware of that as you go. Gentle is key!
For the cakes, this is a classic vanilla cake, but we’re whipping up the egg whites and folding them to add a bit of that light, fluffiness that you’ll typically see in a cake like this.
By the way, Chantilly, as far as I’ve ever known, just means sweetened whipped cream. The addition of cream cheese here is optional, but HIGHLY recommended. Not only does it taste amazing, but it also adds a touch of stability and thickness to the whipped cream, and it really helps when it comes to stacking and frosting the cake.
I’m using strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries here, but you can use any berries you like. For the strawberries, I actually use most of them in a cooked-down, jammy, sauce thing that goes between the layers, and this also will work with any type of berry really really well, or even a mix of berries.
Alright guys, go make this cake for your friends, I think they will all truly be impressed by the homemade version, it’s a killer cake. Enjoy!
Chantilly Cake
Ingredients
For the cakes:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 tbs. canola oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups flour
- 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tbs. sugar
For the strawberry sauce:
- 3/4 pint of strawberries (this doesn't need to be exact)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbs. cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp. salt
For the Chantilly cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 8 ounces room temperature cream cheese
- 1 pint assorted berries
Instructions
For the cakes:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. This recipe also works with two 8-inch round pans.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract, sour cream, and egg yolks, and beat until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt, and beat until combined, then beat in the milk. The batter will be fairly thick.
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In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they just start to become fluffy, and then add in the remaining sugar VERY slowly as you continue to whip the egg whites. Beat until you reach stiff peaks.
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Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lightly the base of the batter. Then fold in the remaining egg whites. This will take a bit of time, but keep folding until the whites are fully incorporated.
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Divide the batter evenly between your pans, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
For the strawberry sauce:
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In a food processor or blender, blend the hulled strawberries until they are mostly mashed. Pour into a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat with the sugar, cornstarch, and salt, until the mixture is thick. Cool completely.
For the Chantilly cream:
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In a large bowl or stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla together until stiff peaks form.
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In a separate small bowl, beat the cream cheese for several minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add the cream cheese to the beaten heavy cream mixture, and whip for several minutes to incorporate fully.
To assemble the cake:
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Once the cake layers have cooled completely, you can trim off the tops to make even layers. Using a piping bag filled with the Chantilly cream, make a thick ring around the edge of the first layer as a dam. Add about half of the strawberry sauce to the middle, and spread evenly. Cover the strawberry sauce with more cream, and spread evenly. Top with raspberries and blackberries.
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Repeat this process until all three layers are build. Then, use remaining Chantilly cream to frost the outside of the cake. Top with any remaining berries, and remaining strawberries. Keep this cake chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Banana Cake
Hey guys! We’re on cake again, it’s a good ‘un. Like most banana recipes, this one came out of finding that I had some over-ripe, toasty-colored bananas sitting on my counter that needed some love.
Today I’m making a layer cake from a loaf pan cake, and it’s a revelation. I’m not going to completely take credit for this- I got the idea from a bakery in Denver called Sugar Bakeshop. I recently visited and it’s BEAUTIFUL, but also they have these amazing little loaf layer cakes on display. So here we are.
Here’s what I really love about doing a layer cake this way. One- the shape is unique, and it kind of makes the whole cake feel a bit fancier. Two- it’s small. Layer cakes often end up being this huge thing that you have tons of leftovers with, and it’s kind of a hassle all said and done. But you get everything you want out of a layer cake here, with only two layers to stack, one pan to bake in, and reasonable portions.
So, I love a good banana cake, and this is no exception. The cake bakes in a loaf pan, so it takes a bit longer to cook than normal cake layers. But, and this is a huge benefit, there’s only one cake pan to wash at the end of the day. Speaking of the pan, I’m using a loaf pan that has straight sides, but it’s not necessary. You may just need to compensate with frosting, and that’s REALLY not a problem.
We’re just slicing this bad boy in half for our layers.
Speaking of layers, we’re using a fluffy, peanut buttery buttercream here, and piling some roughly chopped peanuts in the middle as well for that added crunch and saltiness. This is an American buttercream, which means there’s a good deal of powdered sugar in it. However, we’re swapping out half of the butter for peanut butter, and adding a generous splash of heavy cream to fluff things up.
I love this recipe, I think you guys will too. And expect more loaf layer cakes from me, it’s THE BEST.
Peanut Butter Banana Cake
Ingredients
For the banana cake:
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup almond or oat flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 over-ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
For the peanut butter frosting:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural here)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
Instructions
For the banana cake:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan, preferably with straight sides. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined and fluffy. Add in the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
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Add in the flour mixture and the buttermilk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture, and beat until completely incorporated. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
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Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, and then turn out onto plastic wrap. It's okay if the cake is still pretty warm. Wrap the cake tightly, and freeze for at least an hour before slicing and frosting.
For the peanut butter frosting:
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and salt, scraping the bowl when needed. The mixture will be thick. Add in the heavy cream, and beat until fluffy.
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To build your cake, unwrap the frozen cake, and slice it in half with a sharp knife. On the bottom half, spread a generous portion of frosting, and sprinkle on the chopped peanuts. Top with the second half, and frost and decorate as desired. Enjoy!
