Ingredients
- 24 ounces ripe, fresh strawberries, stems removed and roughly chopped (or 24 ounces frozen whole strawberries, thawed, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon raspberry extract (optional, use sparingly)
- 1 ½ cups additional granulated sugar
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional: For color enhancement, you can stir 2 tablespoons beet powder or a few drops of red food coloring into batter prior to baking cakes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
- In a food processor, or blender, process strawberries and 1 cup of granulated sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or electric mixer, beat together the eggs and vegetable oil until incorporated.
- Add the strawberry mixture, lemon juice, raspberry and vanilla extracts. Mix well. Beat in the remaining 1½ cups granulated sugar.
- If desired, add in optional beet powder, or red food coloring, and blend well.
- Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add to the strawberry cake batter. Beat over medium speed until batter is smooth.
- Divide cake batter evenly between the two 9 inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until browned and cake springs back when lightly touched in middle.
- Place pans on a wire rack to cool. Remove cakes from pans when pans are slightly warm to the touch, and place on wire rack to cool thoroughly.
- Fill and frost cake with my easy cream cheese frosting recipe.
- Store cake in the refrigerator, and for best flavor, allow to sit at room temperature 15-20 minutes before serving.
Chef's Notes
Note: Double the frosting recipe below if you plan on splitting each cake layer in two to create a four layer cake. For a two layer cake, the recipe below will be an adequate amount of frosting.
INGREDIENTS: