strawberry cake
My great grandmother, Ruby, would always make strawberry cake for the weekly family dinners she used to host each Sunday. I remember that wonderful cake, with fluffy frosting laden with strawberries, and the lovely pink layers.
Ruby passed away recently, but her memory lives on every time I walk into my kitchen. Ruby would always show me how to cook when I was at her house. She’d also show me her collection of Avon dolls, and I’d sit and watch Matilda on her bed. (the only kid-friendly movie that she owned) For some reason, I got a hankering for Ruby’s strawberry cake this past week, and my fixation had only one known cure. To bake one.
Strawberry Cake
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cups raw turbinado, coconut, or date sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup puréed, frozen strawberries
1 and 1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon beet juice (optional for color)
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Purée the frozen strawberries in your food processor, then add in water, oil, Earth Balance, lemon juice, and beet juice if you decide you’d like a very pink cake. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry gradually, stirring until few lumps are left. (Don’t use an electric mixer because it will make the cake too tough!) Bake on 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. I made my cake in my 2 pie dishes, to make a round layer cake. This amount would work well with a bundt pan, a square or rectangular dish, or one large round cake pan.
Strawberry Frosting
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 pinches of salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
In your food processor again, purée the strawberries. Add the Earth Balance, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and lemon juice. Slowly add in the powdered sugar a little at a time, continuing to process. Pause occasionally to scrape the sides and check the consistency of the mixture. Ice your cake only after it’s completely cool.
Slice and enjoy! It’s even better than what Ruby used to make.
This looks delicious!
I love, love, love strawberry cake and haven’t had any in ages. I’ll certainly need to try this. Thanks for sharing!
Here’s the much-promised cake!! Love the story behind it, too. Looks positively luscious!
How can you argue against pink cake?
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