(Strawberry cake)
Talk about a growing season right now, mainly thanks to the blessed rains. The garden is growing, the grass is growing, spring babies are growing, the number of flies is growing, the weeds are rapidly growing, the laundry pile is growing, and the to-do list is growing. Thank goodness I am not growing tired. We’ve enjoyed the actual spring weather this year and not jumping straight into summer weather, that sure helps everything thrive along with the rains.
Our swampy pens are pretty much dried out as of the weekend. With last week’s abundant rain amount, I found it would be nice to have another pair or two of taller muck boots around. My tall boots were constantly being used during chore time or on walks to the creek, but not by me! Short boots were quick to fill with the water level around here. The younger two tried to create little channels in the mud to drain some of the corral and it made me chuckle to watch as my youngest had to bend over and physically pull up on the top of her mud boot to release it’s suction in the deep mud so she could move again.
We were determined to be quite intentional with our garden space this year. Last year, we looked at several of the volunteer squash plants coming up in the spring and decided to let them grow. We sure enjoyed eating squash quite early, even if they were odd crosses from last year’s plants. As the garden season went on, we realized our mistake was letting the volunteers grow even after the squash we actually planted started producing. The volunteer plants got severely out of hand. This year, we’ve been pulling volunteer plants up with a vengeance. If they aren’t meant to be somewhere, they don’t get to stay. We did allow just a few, out of the way, volunteer squash plants to grow, just so we can enjoy early produce again. One plant already has a few tiny squashes growing. We’re not quite sure what they are yet, but we know they will be edible and supplement our plates until everything we planted catches up.
We’ve spotted several potato plants blooming, so we know we are getting so close to being able to rob some potatoes. All of our herbs in our new herb spiral are absolutely thriving, we pick them fresh for cooking but need to start drying some. The tomatoes are getting rather bushy, and we just put some old hog panel next to them to start tying them up for support. Overall, the garden is lush and green, and we’ve enjoyed several little things out of it already. The weeds and grass are a bit overwhelming right now, but I’ll work on one area at a time and get it under control eventually. I randomly tell the kids during the day to go pull 20 or 30 weeds before they do something else as well, it helps a bit, their character and the garden!
We had a couple of potlucks to attend last week, and I couldn’t resist not bringing something with fresh milled flour in it. With strawberries being on sale, I scoured some strawberry dessert recipes. I ended up choosing a made-from-scratch strawberry cake that had a cooked down strawberry puree in the cake itself and the frosting. The recipe called for all-purpose flour, but as with anything, I just switched it out for fresh milled flour. The cake did not disappoint at all. The fresh milled flour makes everything so tender, the cake was perfectly moist, and the strawberry flavor was just luscious. It was a cake you could savor every bite of…if you’re a strawberry cake fan. Cake by cake, or bread by bread, I hope to share my passion for fresh milled flour. It has so many amazing health benefits and it’s delicious, you can’t top that, and the fact you can eat it in cake? Even better!
STRAWBERRY CAKE For the Cake:
• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 330g
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
• 2 cups granulated sugar 400g
• 4 large egg whites room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup whole milk 120ml
• ½ cup fresh strawberry puree reduced (see Notes) (120ml)
• pink food coloring optional
For the Strawberry Frosting:
• 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature (227g)
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (227g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 6 to 7 cups powdered sugar sifted (720g-840g)
• ¼ cup fresh strawberry puree reduced (see notes)
INSTRUCTIONS For the Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, or spray with baking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed just until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg whites and vanilla. Beat until on medium speed for about 1 minute or until well combined and very fluffy. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture alternating with the milk and the strawberry reduction, mixing just until combined. Stop and scrape down the bowl as needed. If desired, mix in a drop or two of pink food coloring. Divide the batter among the two cake pans.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is springy to the touch and starts to pull away from the sides of the pans. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely on a wire rack. Discard the parchment paper.
For the Strawberry Frosting:
1. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the powdered sugar alternating with a tablespoon of the strawberry puree. Stop and scrape down the bowl a few times during mixing. Once all of the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy. If the frosting feels too stiff and not silky, add a tablespoon or two of puree or milk.
For the Assembly:
1. Place a cake layer on a cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of frosting on top of the cake. Top with the second layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the outside of the cake and decorate as desired. The cake should be stored covered and will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes: To make a strawberry reduction, start by washing and hulling 1 pound of fresh strawberries. For frozen strawberries, thaw before using. Place the strawberries in a blender and puree. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook until reduced by about half, 25 minutes for fresh and up to 45 for frozen. You should have 1 cup of reduction. Let cool completely before using.
