Strawberry Shortcake Cake
This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is a delicious take on the strawberry shortcake dessert. Creamy and light whipped cream, and sliced fresh strawberries, sandwiched between layers of fluffy vanilla cake. This is a simple and easy cake to make, the results are beyond stunning and delightful.
Servings 12 servings
Calories 340kcal
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 324 grams
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature (169 grams)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil 60 ml
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 300 grams
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk 300 ml
Strawberries
- 3 cups sliced strawberries about 450 grams
- 2 tbsp strawberry preserves or strawberry jam
Whipped Cream
- 3/4 cup cream cheese room temperature (170 grams)
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar 82 grams, divided
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 360 ml
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Vanilla Cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and line 3 8” cake pans with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, oil, and sugar. Beat the ingredients together for two minutes, until the mixture is fluffy and light in color. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, or you can just use a hand mixer.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing one egg completely until incorporated before adding the next one.
- Remember to scrape the bowl in between mixing.
- Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add one third of the buttermilk to the bowl with the batter, mix on low to combine.
- Next, add one third of the dry ingredient mixture. Mix on low speed.
- Add another third of the buttermilk and mix.
- Follow by another third of the flour mixture, mix to combine.
- Add the remaining buttermilk, and mix. Finish with the remaining flour, add it to the bowl and mix on low.
- You can finish by folding with a spatula, to avoid over mixing the batter.
- Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes off clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven. After 10 minutes, flip the cake onto a cooling rack or plate. Let the cake cool down completely. If you aren’t assembling the cake on the same day, wrap the completely cooled down cake in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge, or freezer.
Strawberries
- Slice the strawberries about 1/8th of an inch thick. Place them in a bowl. Add the preserves to the bowl and mix to combine.
- If the strawberry jam you are using is the thick kind, or the jelly kind, you can dissolve it with a few drops of water so it’s easy to mix it with the strawberries. Set it aside.
Whipped Cream
- Make the whipped cream when you are ready to frost the cake. Don't let the whipped cream sit for too long in the bowl, as it will start to deflate. It will hold well once piped.
- Whip the cream cheese with half of the powdered sugar with an electric mixer for one minute, add the vanilla, whip for another 30 seconds and mix to combine.
- The cream cheese helps stabilize the whipped cream.
- In another bowl, whip the heavy cream with the remaining powdered sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, at medium-high speed, until stiff peaks form.
- Add one third of the whipped heavy cream to the bowl with the whipped cream cheese, mix on low with the mixer or by hand, to combine. Add another third of the whipped cream to the bowl and fold. At this point, the mixture will be very light and fluffy, and you don’t want to deflate it too much, so fold delicately, making sure the ingredients get mixed in together.
- Once that’s incorporated, add the remaining whipped cream, and fold gently to combine.
- Place in a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice. I used a tip 4B. Alternatively, you don’t have to pipe the cream, you can spread it on the cake with a spoon or spatula.
To assemble
- Place one cake layer on a cake plate. If the cake has a dome on top, use a knife to level it and cut the excess off.
- Pipe or spread some of the Whipped Cream on top of the cake layer.
- Arrange the sliced strawberries on top, on an even layer. The sliced strawberries mixed with the jam may have a lot of liquid on the bowl, you can gently tap them to remove any excess liquid. You don’t want to put all that liquid on the cake, because it will melt the whipped cream, and make the cake slide.
- Top with another cake layer. Repeat the process of spreading or piping whipped cream on top, followed by a layer of arranged strawberries.
- Place another cake layer on top.
- Top the cake with more cream, and you can decorate it with fresh strawberries.
Storage
- Store the cake in the fridge for up to 2 days. Place any leftovers in an air tight container.
Notes
Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, simply add a teaspoon of vinegar to regular milk, let it sit for 2 minutes, and use in the recipe.
Buttermilk alternative: Another buttermilk alternative is to make the cake with a combination of sour cream and milk. Use 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup of milk in the recipe instead of the buttermilk.
Stabilized Whipped Cream: If you don't want to use cream cheese to stabilize the whipped cream, you can use gelatin. To do that, you will need 3 cups of heavy cream, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp of unflavored gelatin powder, 3 tbsp water, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Dissolve 1 tbsp of unflavored gelatin in 3 tbsp of water, microwave for 10 second increments, stirring, until the mixture is melted together. Let it cool down. Start whipping the cream with the powdered sugar, and pour the cooled dissolved gelatin in slowly when the cream is almost at stiff peaks.
Transporting the cake: This is a very light and fluffy cake, if you are transporting it somewhere, wrap it in acetate to avoid the cake slices from sliding around.
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal