strawberry cake

Whenever I go to a bakery and order a strawberry cupcake, I'm always disappointed. "Strawberry" cupcakes just taste like a vanilla cupcake with strawberry buttercream. Frustrated, I decided to finally just make my own, but last weekend, I discovered 2 things: First, it is nearly impossible to find a recipe for strawberry cake that 1) does not call for jello or a cake mix, or 2) is not actually a recipe for strawberry shortcake. I used this blog recipe, but I was reluctant to do so because 1) I dislike using recipes from just any blog, and 2) the name of the blog was utterly ridiculous (Confessions of a Foodie Bride). Second, strawberry cake is surprisingly difficult to make. I mean, it's not the technique that's difficult. What's difficult is getting a strawberry cake to actually taste like strawberry. 

As suggested, I reduced the strawberries in an effort to get a more concentrated strawberry flavor. It didn't work. There was pretty much no strawberry flavor. In fact, when Drew tasted the cake scraps (yes, I'm anal and trim the layers so they're level- this is called torting), he said "Man, it really is hard to get a strawberry cake to taste like strawberry." It sure is. 

To frost the cake, I made an Italian buttercream, with leftover strawberry puree mixed into it. Usually, I make buttercream the easy way- just butter and confectioner's sugar. But last year, I was watching an episode of the Worst Cooks in America on the Food Network, and this renowned pastry chef was teaching the contestants how to bake a cake. All I remember is him saying "Real buttercream is not that crap with butter and powdered sugar." Or something to that extent (I don't think he would say 'crap').

And so, I decided to make a proper buttercream. The recipe is from Cakelove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch. The author is Warren Brown, a lawyer turned baker, who owns the Cakelove bakeries in D.C. (Fun Fact: When Drew worked in D.C. a few summers ago, he lived just a few blocks from Cakelove and we used to go there and get cupcakes.)

I rarely use the Cakelove cookbook, but that's not because I don't like it- I do. This cookbook rarely leaves the bookshelf because the cakes are kind of fancy and the recipes are a bit too high maintenance. When I use this cookbook, it is for special occasions, like birthdays. And it was my friend's birthday, so I felt it appropriate to break open Cakelove.

To make the buttercream, first you have to whip 5 egg whites to make a meringue. Okay, you're not really doing that- the stand mixer is doing that for you. While that's happening, you make a sugar syrup and when that reaches 245 degrees, you slowly pour it into the meringue while the stand mixer is running at high speed. Yeah, crazy, I know. In fact, when I did this the first time, I wasn't wearing an oven mitt and the syrup splashed and burned one of my fingers. Profanity ensued. After the sugar syrup is mixed in, you add a pound of butter, one pat at a time, with the mixer at about medium speed. When all the butter is mixed in, you crank up the speed to high for a minute or two, until the butter is fully incorporated. 

If you were paying attention, you noticed that it took me 2 tries to successfully make Italian buttercream. I almost gave up after the first try (I burned my finger!), but I'm glad I didn't. The buttercream is light and fluffy, and it tasted so, so good (and that was before I stirred in the strawberry puree). It is superior to the powdered sugar crap in many ways (not only did it taste better, it was also easier to work with), and I'm not sure I'll ever go back. 

As for the cake itself, it was good even though I didn't detect any strawberry flavor. My friend was happy with her birthday cake, and so was everyone else at her party.