Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

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This showstopping cake is a pink-tinged variation on Everyone’s Favorite Vanilla Cake that substitutes strawberry puree for the milk. It’s an ode to the berry and the essence of summer, though the year-round availability of frozen strawberry puree means you can make it any time. I swear you taste sunshine in every bite.

MAKES two 9-inch cake layers; serves 8 to 16

INGREDIENTS

Everyone’s Favorite Vanilla Cake

1¾ cups (395g/14oz) fresh strawberry puree (see Tip), or frozen, if fresh is not available.

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

1 cup (175g/6.1oz) halved fresh strawberries, plus whole strawberries for garnish (optional)

  1. Make Everyone’s Favorite Vanilla Cake as directed, substituting the strawberry puree for the milk in step 3.
  2. To assemble the cake, place one layer top side up on a cake turner. Use an icing wand to evenly spread 1 cup buttercream over the surface. If using the 1 cup (175g/6.1oz) fresh strawberries, place them halved side down around the perimeter of the cake.
  3. Place the second cake layer top side up on the first layer. Using an icing wand, cover the cake with the rest of the buttercream, smoothing the top and sides.
  4. To create the horizontal swipes effect shown in the photo, follow these steps. Starting at the bottom of the cake, gently press the tip of a small icing wand against the side of the cake while you spin the cake turner. Repeat round by round as you work your way up to the top of the cake. To decorate the top, repeat this method, working from the outside in.
  5. Garnish the top with the whole strawberries.

TIP

Strawberry puree is simple to make. One 16-ounce container from the grocery store will yield about 1¾ cups (395g/14oz) of puree.

Wash and dry 16 ounces of strawberries. Remove the hulls and cut them into ¼-inch pieces. Place them in a food processor and puree until smooth. This puree can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 months.

NOTE

If you want to use fresh halved strawberries as shown in the photograph, it’s important to fill and ice the cake no more than a few hours before serving so the berries are firm and look fresh. Otherwise, they may become soggy and their color may bleed into the cake.