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Home » Method » Baking

Strawberry Layer Cake for Valentine's Day

By: Kita · Published Feb 7, 2011 · Updated: May 12, 2016 · This post may contain affiliate links

Strawberry layer cake with whipped strawberry filling between moist layers of vanilla cake and an outside edge of crunchy Pirouette cookies. This is what Valentine's Day love is made of.

Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe \\ PassTheSushi.comYou asked for Valentine's Dy posts, well here's one for ya. Now try and tell me those layers don't scream love!

When I first saw this strawberry layer cake recipe in Rachael Ray magazine, I printed it out right away (come on, I'm not the only one who instantly forgets what volume of what magazine it was that I saw that recipe in that I had to try). I am not a fan of strawberries or dry cookies, but the vertical layers blew my mind for a minute. The line was drawn and I had to cross it.

Don't get any expectations people - this isn't a thirty minute strawberry layer cake.

You will get dirty and you will have fun making it, which sounds to me like the perfect kind of Valentine's dessert. 😉

Strawberry Spiral Cake

Every Day Rachael Ray magazine - December 2010

Ingredients:

For the cake:

  • Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe \\ PassTheSushi.com2 cups flour
  • 2  teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 10 eggs, separated
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • ¼ cup fresh orange juice

For the Filling/Frosting:

  • 1 ½ pounds (6 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
  • One and a half 10-ounce bags frozen strawberries, thawed and pureed (about 2 cups)
  • 6 egg yolks
  • Ice water
  • 2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
  • Red food coloring (optional)
  • Pirouette cookies, for decorating

Preparation:

Position a rack in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°. Lightly butter two 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheets, line with parchment and butter the parchment. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt.

Using an electric mixer with a whip attachment, beat 10 egg yolks, the vanilla and 1 cup granulated sugar at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Gently fold in the melted butter and ¼ cup orange juice.

In a clean mixer bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites at medium speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With the machine on, gradually sprinkle in the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites are still moist but hold stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold one-quarter of the whites into the cake batter with a rubber spatula, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain, taking care to get the batter at the bottom of the bowl. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing evenly.

Bake the cakes, switching and rotating the pans after 10 minutes, until springy to the touch in the center and lightly golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Lay 2 non-terry kitchen towels out on the counter and dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar. With a serrated knife, trim around the edges of the cakes and invert onto the towels. Cover the layers with 2 other towels and let cool completely while you prepare the frosting.

Make the frosting. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 6 egg yolks and 2 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar at medium-high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes. Place the strawberries in a medium saucepan, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until simmering, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk the hot strawberry puree into the yolk mixture. Transfer the mixture into the saucepan, stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the temperature reaches 170° on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the saucepan to an ice-water bath, stirring occasionally until cold (alternatively, let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight).

Using the electric mixer, beat the remaining 6 sticks butter at high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the chilled strawberry mixture ½ cup at a time at low speed. Beat in the remaining 2 teaspoons orange juice until fluffy. Add 1 or 2 drops red food coloring, if using.

Assemble the cake. With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer lengthwise into 4 even strips, keeping the strips close together. Spread 1 ½ cups of the strawberry buttercream onto each strip. Roll up 1 of the strips lengthwise into a snug spiral like a jelly roll. Place the roll on the end of another strip and roll up the second strip around the roll—this will be the center of the cake. Place the roll cut side down in the middle of a 10-inch round cake board. Pick up another frosted strip and place one of its ends at the end of the rolled strips on the board, frosting side in toward the roll; wrap it around to enlarge the cake. Continue with the remaining frosted cake strips, taking care to make the ends meet and rolling snugly.

Frost the top and sides of the cake (reserving some frosting for piping). Decorate the cake perimeter with the pirouette cookies and pipe a fluted edge of frosting on the top edge of the cake.

Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe \\ PassTheSushi.com

What I did/would do differently with the strawberry layer cake recipe:

The 8 strips you get when you cut the layers will make one huge cake once it is all rolled up. I only used 5 (and I even went out and purchased a new bigger cake plate).

The strawberry filling is just that; a filling. If I were to make this again I would make a strawberry cream cheese frosting to replace this and spread it very thinly over the layers (so that your teeth just don't fall out when eating this from the sugar overload).

I used fresh strawberries because its what the BF brought home from the store. Just add a tablespoon of water when pureeing.

Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe \\ PassTheSushi.com

 

My local store only had a mint flavored pirouettes. So I used Oreo Fun Straws that I found while trying to figure out if mint would mesh with strawberry. I decided that fake chocolate was better. Remind me not to buy those mint pirouettes next December when they seem like they are a great price.

Don't let the length of the instructions intimidate you. This strawberry layer cake was easy and fun to make. So get get messy in the kitchen with someone else or just for the hell of it. 😉

Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe \\ PassTheSushi.com

What do you think? Will you be trying this strawberry layer cake recipe?

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Blog is the New Black says

    February 07, 2011 at 7:53 am

    This is a VERY involved cake- great job, it came out awesome!

    Reply
  2. Tanya C. says

    February 07, 2011 at 8:21 am

    Beautiful cake, great job!

    Reply
  3. Treat and Trick says

    February 07, 2011 at 9:14 am

    What a lovely cake! It turns out fabulous and perfect.....

    Reply
  4. RavieNomNoms says

    February 07, 2011 at 10:02 am

    Oh wow, that looks so gorgeous! I bet it tastes absolutely perfect!

    Reply
  5. Sprinkled with Flour says

    February 07, 2011 at 10:35 am

    What a pretty cake! It looks so yummy too:)

    Reply
  6. Sommer J says

    February 07, 2011 at 10:54 am

    Looks gorgeous!

    Reply
  7. Roxan says

    February 07, 2011 at 11:09 am

    Whoa, impressive cake, Kita!
    LOVE that you used strawberry in here. I'd love to have a slice with my coffee for breakfast right now.

    Reply
  8. Fresh and Foodie says

    February 07, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Gorge! I LOVE the edges of the cake with the cookies, too. Beautiful idea.

    Reply
  9. vtkitchen says

    February 07, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    oh wow, this is a serious project. the directions went on for light years. I'm glad you were able to share it with us. I'm far from being able to whip up one of those =)

    Reply
  10. Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies says

    February 07, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    Wow, the look of your cake is just stunning. You've got some definite skill. Not to mention, it looks delicious and probably didn't last very long before it was devoured completely. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog (it will be open until this evening) and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link your cake up. https://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/02/sweets-for-saturday-3.html

    Reply
  11. Claudia says

    February 07, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    This is so very, very pretty - talk about wowing your sweetie and loved ones - you seriously did. And the presentation is perfect.

    Reply
  12. Steph@stephsbitebybite says

    February 07, 2011 at 1:51 pm

    What a gorgeous cake!! I don't know if I could eat it 😉 Wait...did I just day that

    Reply
  13. Lena says

    February 07, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    That looks so good! & it's pretty, which is always a plus! lol

    Reply
  14. The Chef Doc says

    February 07, 2011 at 3:15 pm

    Awesome job, Kita! This cake looks so pretty... almost too pretty to eat. ALMOST 😉

    Reply
  15. Maya says

    February 07, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    I'd be happy to get down and dirty for these vertical layers! This cake seems like a labor of love but the end result makes all the effort so worthwhile.

    Reply
  16. Emily says

    February 07, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    Hi Kita, the cake came together beautifully. It definitely worths the effort for Valentine's day and would make a gorgeous centrepiece over candle light dinner. 😀

    Reply
  17. Vicki @ Wilde in the Kitchen says

    February 07, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    Sounds like this cake was a bit of work! Looks totally pretty though, worth the effort! (More frosting per slice of cake makes me happy!)

    Reply
  18. Liz says

    February 07, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    Such a stunning cake!!! A definite show stopper!!

    Reply
  19. Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels says

    February 07, 2011 at 9:14 pm

    Wow what an absolute stunning cake. You did such an amazing job with it and I bet it tastes amazing! 🙂

    Reply
  20. whatsfordinneracrossstaelines says

    February 07, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    I was eyeballing this cake this morning. I just wanted to wait till after dinner so I could look at it without wanting to eat it for breakfast. He He Love the vertical lines and I love how the cookies look around the outside. I'm thinking the cc frosting might be a good idea.
    -Gina-

    Reply
  21. imwaytoobusy says

    February 08, 2011 at 7:08 am

    Those are some serious directions! Gorgeous cake! 😉 You can't go wrong with strawberry anything!

    Reply
  22. Stephanie @ okie dokie artichokie says

    February 08, 2011 at 9:06 am

    Looks gorgeous! You've definitely wowed me, and I'm not even your Valentine. LOL. That sounded weird. Please excuse my weirdness. :-p

    Reply
  23. Carolyn Jung says

    February 08, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    What a fabulously fancy looking cake. I was wondering what the cookies were on the outside. A great touch. And yes, cream cheese always makes everything better. 😉

    Reply
  24. briarrose says

    February 08, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    Amazing cake....definitely a labor of love. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Kaitlin says

    February 08, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    I ALWAYS loose recipes in magazines 😉

    This looks so beautiful!

    Reply
  26. alyce says

    February 09, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    This looks beautiful! I've been looking for a strawberry cake recipe! Thanks.

    Reply
  27. Umm Mymoonah says

    February 10, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    Wow! This looks divine, just couldn't take my eyes out of it. Absolutely gorgeous looking cake.

    Reply
  28. Dina says

    February 13, 2011 at 10:58 am

    lovely cake and it sounds delicious!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Kita! The mountain biking, travel junkie, professional freelance photographer, and creator behind the scenes.

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