Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Yesterday we were celebrating my sister's birthday, well, at least I thought we were celebrating my sister's birthday! It turns out that it was all a clever ruse to get me to my surprise bridal shower! It was an amazing time, we had a spectacular Mexican Fiesta bridal shower! It was awesome :)

Since I was under the impression that we were celebrating her birthday, I decided to make her favorite cake, strawberry shortcake cake.  This was my first attempt at making a cake and I was so happy with the results.  I think everyone else thought so too, there was none left at the end of the day!

Luckily, I got a picture of the last piece!

This recipe is from thepioneerwoman.com, and it also had a ton of fantastic reviews on tastykitchen.com so I knew it had to be a winner.

The original recipe stated to bake the cake in a deep pan (at least 2" deep) and then to cut it in half to get the two pieces, but I only own two standard 9" pans and they worked great! I just cut down the baking time in half and they came out perfectly

While the cakes cooled, I prepared the strawberries.  The original recipe called for 1 pound of strawberries, but next time I think I will use 1 1/2 pounds of strawberries so that there is more in each layer to enjoy!

The strawberries were then spread on top of each layer, and placed in the fridge to let everything firm up so that icing would be easier.  Then each layer of strawberries was covered by a layer of the delicious cream cheese icing, and then stacked on top of each other.

The remaining icing was used to cover the rest of the cake, and then the cake was done!


This cake is best kept in the fridge until serving.  This helps keep the icing firm (it can get soft quickly in this warm weather) and helps to keep the cake from getting a soggy texture from all the tasty strawberry juices.


Next time you have strawberries in the fridge, make this cake!


Strawberry Shortcake Cake

• For The Cake:
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tbsps corn starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Icing:
• 1 block cream cheese (250 grams)
• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners (icing) sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries
• 5 tbsps sugar (separated)

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.  Spray each of your 8" or 9" round cake pans with cooking spray, or coat with butter and flour.
2. Sift the first 4 ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy
4. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, making sure to mix in each egg fully before adding the next one
5. Add both the sour cream and the vanilla to the liquid ingredients, and mix well
6. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix until the batter is just coming together
7. Pour into two 8" or 9" round cake pans and cook for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into each cake
8. When the cakes are done cooking, allow to cool completely before adding the strawberries and icing
9. As the cakes cool, remove the stems and cut each strawberry in half.  
10. Place all of the strawberry halves in a bowl, then top with 3 tbsps of sugar, stir, and let sit for half an hour
11. Separate the strawberries into two bowls after half an hour, and then sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar over each bowl of strawberries and let sit for another half an hour
12. As the strawberries are sitting, cream together the butter and cream cheese.  Add the vanilla and mix well.
13. Add the icing sugar half cup at a time, mixing well after each addition
14. Pour the first bowl of strawberries over one of the cakes, juices and all. Repeat with the second bowl of strawberries and the second cake.
15. Place each half in the fridge or freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to make icing easier
16. Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 of the icing onto one of the cakes on top of the strawberries, then repeat with the second cake
17. Layer the cakes and then spread the rest of the icing on the sides to complete the cake
18. Store in the fridge until ready to serve!