Strawberry Cake

This easy strawberry cake will have your guest licking their plates.  It is very moist and has great strawberry flavor!  The pipeable cream cheese frosting is delicious also.

I love making strawberry desserts in the summertime!  Don't you?

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), room temp
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 pkg. (3oz) strawberry gelatin
• 4 eggs
• 2 3/4 cup sifted cake flour*
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk, room temp
• 1 tbsp vanilla 
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree**
• fresh strawberries for decorating, optional

 Directions:

1. Place eggs, butter and milk on counter at least two hours before baking.  It takes awhile for them to reach proper room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease, flour and line two 9 inch round cake pans.  I like to spray nonstick cooking spray, line with parchment paper, spray again and flour.  Shake off excess flour.  If you take the time to do this extra step, your cakes will always come out of your pans.
3. Cream butter, sugar and gelatin in mixer until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time until just mixed.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.  Add to batter alternating with milk.  Always begin and end with flour.  This helps from a flour cloud in your kitchen.  Don't over mix! Over mixing makes for tough cakes.
5. Stir in vanilla and strawberry puree.
6. Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 or until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pans over cooling rack for 10 minutes before inverting.  Let cakes cool completely before frosting.  I used this pipeable cream cheese frosting.  Strawberry buttercream would also be great.

* sifted cake flour means sift before measuring.  It makes a difference
** for strawberry puree: add a bag of frozen strawberries and sugar to blender and puree.  Omit sugar if buying sweetened berries.  Add a little sugar and taste as you go.  I think I added 1/3-1/2 cup of sugar.

Sorry the cake is so messy in this picture.  I was too full on cake to clean it up.