I hosted a small Easter dinner on Sunday. Since my dad and brother rarely make it out to visit us, I let them pick the dessert menu. My dad of course chose chocolate; more specifically chocolate mousse, which I will post later this week. My brother, Jared being his typical laid back self said he would be content with anything I made.
I opted for an adapted version of Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse from David Lebovitz and a Strawberry Cream Cake from Ina Garten. I thought both of these recipes would be perfect and produce brilliant (this is my new word, thanks to Jamie Oliver) results–how can you go wrong with David and Ina?
The first recipe I will be posting is Ina’s Strawberry Country Cake, I whipped this together Easter morning and the results were splendid. A moist, citrus infused cake topped with fresh whipped cream and strawberries…this simply screams spring and was the perfect end to a great Easter dinner.
The recipe is easy enough to follow; however, it does yield two 8 inch round cakes. Apparently the intention is to use one of the cakes immediately and freeze the other for later use. I didn’t pay attention to this important tidbit until after baking the cakes. If I would have actually read the recipe, I would have simply cut it in half.
The result? Ina never fails me…this is a seriously delicious cake, it’s simple, scrumptious and perfect for spring. A definite must make in my book!
A special thanks to my bro, Jared for helping me cut strawberries, style and shoot the cake before we scarfed it down! If I ever need an assistant, you’ll be number one on my list!
Looking for more strawberry recipes? Check out these posts:
Meyer Lemon Strawberry Muffins from My Baking Addiction
Mini Angel Food Cakes from My Baking Addiction
Layered Strawberry Trifle from Recipe Girl
Strawberry Cream Pie from The Cooking Photographer
Individual Strawberry Shortcakes from Living Tastefully
Strawberry Country Cake
adapted from Ina Garten
yields (2) 8 inch round cakes
Ingredients for the cakes:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (I used zest of 1 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest (I used zest of 1 orange)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the filling for each cake: (I doubled the cream sugar and vanilla for one cake)
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans. Then line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the lined pans.
3. Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.
4. Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature. If using 1 cake, wrap the second well and freeze.
5. To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until firm. Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife. Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with 1/2 the whipped cream and scatter with sliced strawberries. Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream. Decorate with strawberries.
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Absolutely beautiful! Your pictures and recipes are definitely brilliant! Hope you had a lovely Easter. Am really enjoying your blog and love getting your updates on Facebook and Twitter!
Wonderful! I have strawberries in the fridge. I can hear them calling for me. I love Ina’s recipes. They always come out perfectly. I love your picture of the finished cake.
Dear lord, why oh why do I keep coming back here – I am so hungry now!~
I’ve been wanting to make that cake forever and just never have. It looks great! I’ll have to get after that for strawberry season.
That looks so lusciously good. My mouth is actually watering right now. Yum!
drool* That looks so darn delicious!! Great Picture too!!!
I am dead from the deliciousness of this post. MUST MAKE SOON!
Oh my, I see a trip into town tomorrow for strawberries…it looks so good…
So pretty! I love simple and fruity cake like this!
Beautiful! Looks delicious.
This looks so amazing Jamie! Strawberries and whipped cream are a match made in heaven in my book – I’ll definitely try this one over the summer!
Gorgeous cake. So fresh and delicious!
Looks really good. I actually made the Recipe Girl’s strawberry trifle for Easter. I kicked up the lemon in it and it was terrific. I’ll have to try this recipe next. Glad to hear that you guys had happy and delicious Easter!
~ingrid
Ahh… your pictures of cakes and desserts make me wish I had a higher metabolism and cook afford to make and eat such things! Good work
This strawberry cake looks fantastic. And what more can I say about the pictures …..
Absolutely stunning. Your cake looks sooo good!
hi jaime, this looks PERFECT. strawberries are like my favorite thing! Thank you!
This looks perfect! I wish I could be there to grab a fork and eat it right from the plate!
I am so glad the price of strawberries is going down now–they make such wonderful additions to desserts!
Just found your blog and love it! Made a cake very similar to this for my sis-in-law’s wedding shower but used a sturdier butter-cream frosting and topped it with ganache. Sooooo good!
Yum! This sounds delicious, your cake is beautiful with all those strawberries!
This looks so yummy and beautiful!! I absolutely love any combination of cake and strawberries. I really need to invest in one of Ina’s cookbooks, her desserts always looks so great!!
This is gorgeous! It looks absolutely delicious!
You are so right, Ina always satisfies. That woman knows so much about using whole foods & letting flavors display themselves proudly! Beautiful strawberry cake.
Absolutely beautiful Jamie. One of my favorite spring desserts is a fresh strawberry pie but I’m thinking we need to try this; nothing wrong with two favorite strawberry desserts!
Looks soooo good! Thanks for sharing!
You’re right – it scream spring! Sooo beautiful. Can’t wait for the chocolate mousse!
Soooo gorgeous, you are really getting my baking bug itching. That whipped cream is so beautiful, perfect way to usher in Springtime
Wow. The photos are absolutely amazing!! What a lovely cake!
This cake is lovely. It looked like a dessert from the heavens, you know, the type that is being served when angels over there are having their meeting.
I believe that my family would love this too. I am going to try this for our next family gathering. Thank you for sharing.
I like to eat a variety of snacks, such as pizza, cake and others.Cake is one of my favorites.
I always love your photos
This cake sounds amazing!
I must say this cake was amazing….head to the store and whip it up
Mmm, I’m addicted to sweets and seeing your pictures does not make it easier for me. I’m making Swedish Cupcakes in the latest episode of my cooking show, please check it out!
Hi – So, I made this cake and it fell in the center, actually it never puffed up! I do live in Colorado and was wondering if this could be because of the altitude. Also, would you have any tips on how to adjust for altitude? Other than the center it was delicious and a huge hit with my family!
Thanks for any help!
This looks delicious! My boyfriend would love it!
http://cuppycakebakes.blogspot.com
I always love your strawberry bakes! This cake looks so irresistibly fresh and delicious
I am making this cake right now for my daughters birthday tomorrow!! Smells delish!!
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