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    Home » Recipes » Birthdays

    Strawberry Birthday Cake

    Published: Apr 12, 2012 · Modified: Mar 21, 2021 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    My little girl is 5 years old. She is finally old enough that she remembers every last piece of our birthday traditions: how we decorate, the need for flowers, the appropriate balloons, our red plate. She made sure we were on track for every element of her special day right down to her cake.

    Her very favorite color is blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. And yet, she wanted a strawberry cake. So we decided on a pink and aqua party + dinosaurs. Typical 5 year old fashion, right? A little of this, a little of that. All that matters is she loved it.

    I looked high and low for the right kind of recipe for her cake and finally found the perfect pink cake. I decided to double batch it and pair it with our favorite Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream from last year. Though the photos don't show it well, the frosting was tinted aqua as dark as I could make it without spoiling the fluffiness.

    I used the last jar of our homemade strawberry freezer jam inbetween the layers. The cake is dense, very strawberry-ish, and the frosting is light and airy and just the right amount of sweet. We decided to serve it with Neapolitan ice cream and the Peanut thought that was just incredible: "Three Flavors in One?!"

    If you're looking for a strawberry cake with vibrant color, look no further. The gelatin in the recipe is what really turns it vivid pink. It really was pretty in person and a huge hit with the party goers.

    Strawberry Birthday Cake

    A slice is missing from a pink strawberry layer cake with aqua-tinted frosting. There are pastel sprinkles and a birthday pennant decorating the top of the cake.

    Strawberry Birthday Cake

    5 from 1 vote
    This pretty pink cake is sweetened with real strawberries and a bit of strawberry gelatin for extra flavor.
    TOTAL TIME 1 hour
    PREP TIME 20 minutes
    COOK TIME 40 minutes
    YIELD 12 servings
    PIN RECIPE FOR LATER PRINT RECIPE NOW

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 3 oz. strawberry gelatin
    • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1 cup milk
    • 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup sweetened strawberry puree

    Instructions

    To make the strawberry puree:

    • Blend partially thawed frozen strawberries with a bit of sugar in a blender or food processor until smooth.  If using sweetened frozen strawberries, no additional sugar is necessary.

    To make the cake:

    • Butter and flour the edges of 2 9-inch round pans, shaking out the excess flour. Line the bottoms with a round of parchment. 
    • In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside. Combine the sugar, strawberry gelatin and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  
    • Beat the eggs into the sugar mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until incorporated. Blend in the milk and vanilla extract.  
    • Add in the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.  Blend in the strawberry puree.
    • Preheat the oven to 350°F.  
    • Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
    • Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let them cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, then turn the cakes out onto the rack and let them cool completely.

    To assemble the cake:

    • Place one layer of cake on your serving platter. Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam and frosting before adding the second layer on top.
    • Frost and decorate as desired.

    Recipe Notes

    Our favorite homemade strawberry freezer jam is perfect for using in the middle layer of this cake.
    COURSECakes
    CUISINEAmerican
    AUTHORTiffany Dahle

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Cristian

      June 17, 2012 at 7:46 pm

      So fun and I love all your berry cute decorations! That strbraewry/blueberry cake is so beautiful and looks so delicious! Yum! Do you host all your playdates? If not, I don't think I would want to be the next mom to host one after all the love and care you put into the playdates at your house 🙂 You are making awesome memories for your children and their friends!

      Reply
    2. allison jacobs

      April 12, 2012 at 3:15 pm

      Looks wonderful Tiffany!

      Reply
    3. Kim - Liv Life

      April 12, 2012 at 10:45 am

      The smile on her face says it all!! And I love that she included dinosaurs!!

      Reply
    4. Tammy Bilodeau

      April 12, 2012 at 7:41 am

      Looks scrumptious Tiffany. So glad your daughter loved her specail day....and that cake stand is sure purdy 🙂

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Birthday cake roundup » Peanut Blossom says:
      August 20, 2013 at 6:57 am

      […] Pink & Aqua Strawberry Cake: Easy peasy and a big hit with my birthday […]

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Tiffany!
    I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for moms.

    More about me →

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