Strawberry season is here. That means; keeping our annual tradition in-check, by picking up some fresh Strawberries from the farm. Then I go on a full on – Strawberry cook off. Thereafter we end up in a strawberry coma after all the yummy strawberry treats. Both my kids will live off of strawberries if I allow them to.

This time around, I wanted to make a Strawberry Cake. But I was certain that, I wanted to dive deep into making this, as a Strawberryest Strawberry Cake. What I mean by that is – I want a Cake that smells like fresh Strawberries, as well as tastes like fresh Strawberries without any artificial essence or colors.

I did not want to make a Butter cake or a Vanilla cake by adding in some strawberry frosting or some strawberry chunks to make a Strawberry cake. I wanted it to be a fresh fruity Cake that is infused with all the natural strawberry flavors as well as keeping the organic strawberry color for the whole cake .

So, I made a simple Strawberry Reduction. That is all it needs for this cake to get that extra fruity kick and intensify the Strawberry flavor without compromising the cake texture or the density of the cake. To make a strawberry reduction all you need, is to boil away the water in the fruit and ta-da!!, you have this delicious Strawberry Sauce. The bonus; this Strawberry Sauce not only will be added to the cake batter but also, will be added to the frosting that we are making today. If you have any extra sauce left, save them. This will be a wonderful topping, that you can use on Ice cream, Waffles and even Pancakes.

A simple extra step, will make this Cake a special in your recipe book. Give it a try and enjoy it with your family..

Strawberry Cake

Serves 8 – 10 | Prep-time 40 mins | Cook-time 35-40 mins

Strawberry Reduction / Sauce Ingredients :

• 3 Cups of Fresh Strawberries.
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice.

Directions :

• Take a heavy bottom Pan and add the Strawberries as well as the lemon juice in.
• Cook it for 20 – 25 minutes for the Strawberries to cook down or until all the water evaporates.
• keep stirring in between and you will reach a sauce like thickness.
• Store the Strawberry Sauce in a jar / air tight container in the refrigerator for later use.

Notes :

• You can chop up the berries or can use a hand blender to mash them before boiling it. Hand blending is up to personal preference; if you want a smooth sauce, blend it up. Otherwise you can use a fork to mush them too.

Cake Ingredients :

• 2 cups of Margarine / Vegan Butter.
• 1 1/2 cups of Light Brown Sugar.
• 2 cups of Unbleached Flour.
• 4 Eggs.
• 1/2 Cup of Strawberry Sauce.
• 1-2 tablespoon Almond Milk.
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder.

Directions :

• Take the Margarine and Eggs out of the refrigerator and let it get to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F° or 170 C°.
• Grease two 9×2 round baking pans with margarine or non-stick baking spray, and line parchment sheet to the bottom.
• Sift the Flour and Baking powder together and keep aside.
• Take a large bowl and beat the Margarine well until it’s soft, fluffy and turned into a pale color.
• Add the Sugar and beat them until Sugar is well combined.
• Add the Eggs one at a time to the mixture and beat well until the batter is creamy.
• Mix in the Vanilla extract into the batter and combine well.
• Combine flour in; 2 portions with the batter and beat well.
• Add in the Strawberry Sauce and mix well.
• Finally add the Almond milk and mix well.
• Pour the batter into the two baking pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Notes :

• I have used Margarine in this recipe. But Butter / Vegan Butter can be substituted, and it will yield a delicious cake as well.
• I have used Unbleached flour in this recipe as a personal choice, but all purpose, regular flour too will do the job.
• I have used Brown sugar in this recipe which is sweeter than the regular sugar. But regular sugar will work fine.
• Almond milk can be substituted to regular milk.
• Almond milk can be omitted fully from the recipe if the batter comes to the right thickness after adding the Strawberry sauce.

Vegan Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup of Margarine / Vegan Butter.
• 4 cups of Icing sugar.
• 1/2 cup of Strawberry Sauce.

Directions :

• In a medium bowl, beat margarine well until it is fluffy and turns pale in color.
• Add icing sugar one cup at a time and beat well, while scrapping down the sides of the bowl to mix everything well.
• Finally add the Strawberry Sauce: one table spoon at a time and beat well until you reach your desired consistency.

Notes :

• Butter can be substituted in this recipe to make Buttercream frosting. Make sure to take the butter out of the refrigerator and let it get to room temperature before making the frosting.