strawberry cake

my friend elizabeth's birthday is tomorrow, and she had a little get-together this afternoon at one of our favorite casual bars.  i offered to make her a cake because no one should have to provide their own birthday cake.  she requested fresh strawberry cake, and i found a recipe on smitten kitchen, always my go-to for new recipes because the author makes delicious stuff, takes great pictures of it, and writes like you're her best friend and she's telling you what she made as you eat brunch together.  i. love. her.

i am not really a fan of strawberry-flavored cakes, so i was skeptical but willing to make elizabeth whatever she wanted.

step one: eat a healthy lunch (lentils with sautéed spinach and garlic) to make up for the obscene amount of frosting you are going to lick off of your fingers later.

step two: make the batter.  this recipe has a cup and a half of pureed strawberries in it, and just one drop of food coloring to make it nice and pink.  the recipe makes a three layer cake (but i just made two slightly thicker layers and some cupcakes since i only have two cake pans), and it tested the capacity of my medium-sized kitchenaid mixer.

step three: use this as an excuse to buy the cake carrier you have always wanted to buy.  yes!

step four: baked, frosted, and ready to go!

step five: eaten!  um, this cake is one of the best cakes i've ever made.  seriously.  top three.  i make a bad ass chocolate cake with chocolate ganache (secret ingredient: coffee), a bad ass carrot cake (secret ingredient: no gross nuts), and now a bad ass strawberry cake (secret ingredient: cake flour, which makes a super tender and delicate cake).  i am ready to open a cake shop.  who wants to fund me?!

the strawberry flavor tastes…like strawberries!  because it contains them!  the real thing has made me realize that previous strawberry cakes i've eaten have probably never been near a strawberry, relying on whatever the chemical strawberry "flavor" is.

it was a huge hit with elizabeth and her friends and i am feeling very proud of myself!  i'll be bringing the cupcakes to brunch* with a different group of friends tomorrow and am hopeful that they will go over just as well.


*who says you can't have cupcakes at brunch??