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Prep Time20 minutes
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Cook Time40 minutes
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Serving20
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Serv Size1 piece
So it was my birthday this week, and my mom made me this cake. She has always baked our birthday cakes at home as we grew up, and this time she just couldn’t bring herself to buy one. I had also just ordered a new piping set, so we were both excited to try it out. And what better excuse did we need, right? 😛 Since I’ve always been a fan of pink, she decided to make it a strawberry-flavored cake, using the good old butter cake base and adding strawberry essence for flavor.
The result was a moist, rich cake layered with a gorgeous strawberry buttercream, piped into rosettes all over the surface. While essence is the easy go-to, fresh strawberries or even strawberry jam would make this cake extra special with a richer, more vibrant flavor. At home, pineapple is usually our fruity flavor of choice when we’re not baking chocolate or vanilla, but this time strawberry felt perfect, both for the color and the taste!
Ingredients
For the Cake:
For the Buttercream Filling:
For the Buttercream Icing:
Directions
The real magic in this cake begins with the decorating. Ensuring your buttercream is the right consistency makes it smooth, creamy, and easy to pipe. With a star tip, you can create simple yet elegant swirl rosettes, covering the surface of the cake in a neat pattern. The key is steady pressure and a gentle wrist movement, letting the roses overlap slightly for a seamless finish. Don’t worry if a few look imperfect. Together they’ll create a stunning pink bouquet effect that makes this cake stand out.
Beat the Eggs: In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs together with the strawberry essence until they turn light, fluffy, and slightly pale in color.
Cream the Butter and Sugar: In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sifted caster sugar until smooth and visibly lighter.
Combine Wet Ingredients: Add the butter-sugar mixture to the fluffy eggs and beat gently until just combined.
Fold in the Dry Ingredients: Sift together the flour and baking powder. Gently fold this into the egg-butter mixture until no dry streaks remain. Be careful not to over-mix to keep the crumb soft.
Add the Color: Mix in a few drops of red or pink food coloring, blending just enough until the color is even throughout.
Bake the Cake: Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake at 360°F (gas mark 4) for 35-45 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before moving on to icing.
Slice and Soak: Once cooled, slice the cake horizontally into two layers and place them with the inner sides facing upward. Poke a few small holes using a fork or skewer. Evenly spoon strawberry juice over both halves to keep the cake moist. If you don’t have strawberry juice, simply blitz strawberry jam with a little sugar and water to create a runny syrup. Alternatively, sugar, strawberry essence, and water blended together works just as well.
Make the Filling: Cream the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat until incorporated, then add the milk powder and continue beating until creamy. Mix in the finely chopped fresh strawberries. Spread this mixture evenly over both cake halves, then stack them carefully so the edges align.
Prepare the Buttercream Icing: Cream the butter until pale and fluffy, then add icing sugar and beat again. Mix in the milk powder and food coloring until smooth and vibrant.
Cover the Cake: Spread a very thin layer of icing all over the cake. This crumb coat ensures no gaps show between the piped flowers later.
Decorate: Fill a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle and pipe buttercream flowers, swirls, or rosettes over the cake. Add silver sugar balls or any other sprinkles of choice to make it extra glam. 😍
Conclusion
And there you have it! A homemade strawberry buttercream cake that feels every bit as special as it looks. The soft pink swirls give it that celebratory touch, while the sweet strawberry flavor makes each bite worth savoring. Whether you’re making it for a birthday, an afternoon treat, or just to practice your piping skills, this cake proves that a little creativity and patience can turn something simple into something beautiful. Slice, share, and enjoy the smiles it brings.
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