Elderflower & Roasted Strawberry Layer Cake for #thecakeslicebakers

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. 

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for July 2020 were:

Elderflower and Roasted Strawberry Layer Cake

• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Amandie Bakes
• Sweet Sensations
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Making Miracles

Pineapple and Saffron Syrup Cakes

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs

Fig, Blackberry and Tahini Cake

• Camille Cooks
• My Recipe Reviews

I took a few liberties with this cake - I completely changed up the frosting recipe to make things a little easier on myself - plus we just love cream cheese based frostings and I thought it would work so well with the strawberry puree!

The cakes are supposed to get a lovely brushing of the elderflower cordial after baking, and I left that out as well - to appease the palettes of the young ones in the house. I wasn't sure either of my kids would have appreciated that flavor - but did of course include it in the baked portion of the cake batter!

Elderflower and Roasted Strawberry Layer Cake

Ingredients
scant 2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 TBS milk
2 TBS elderflower cordial
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup plus 2 TBS sugar
1 tsp dried lemon zest
4 eggs

Roasted Strawberry Puree
1 lb fresh strawberries, greens trimmed off
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened to room temperature
1 8-oz brick cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup roasted strawberry puree

Directions

1. Make the puree first so it has time to cool: preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice strawberries in half and place in a 2-quart baking dish. Toss with the vanilla and sugar.
2. Bake 30-40 minutes until soft, fragrant, and juices are syrupy. 
3. Allow to cool completely before pureeing in the blender, or with an immersion blender, until a smooth puree is formed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Next prepare the cakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 8" cake pans with parchment rounds and spray with baking spray - set aside.
5. Combine the milk and elderflower cordial in a small bowl, and set aside.
6. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl: flour and baking powder. Whisk and set aside.
7. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the softened butter with the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy (a couple minutes). 
8. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides between additions as needed until all are well incorporated. 
9. On low speed, add in the flour mixture and the milk / cordial mixture, blending just until combined. Scrape down and finish mixing by hand with a spatula.
10. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until baked through (check with a toothpick in the center). Note - cake batter will be very thick.
11. Allow cakes to cool in pans 10-15 minutes, before turning out and allowing to complete cooling on a cooling rack.
12. When cool, prepare the frosting (see original recipe for her suggested buttercream frosting).
13. To make the strawberry cream cheese frosting, combine the softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on medium to high speed until creamy, well combined, and no lumps remain. Add in the powdered sugar and start on low speed, moving to high until combined. Slowly add in the strawberry puree until your desired color / consistency is reached. 
14. To assemble cake. Place one round on a tray or plate, and add about 1/2 of the frosting. Spread to the edges, but not all the way over. Add a thin layer of strawberry puree over the top of the frosting. Top with the second round, and add all remaining frosting, spreading to the edges. Add some of the puree to the center of your cake, or decorate with the puree as desired (you will not use all of it).

Recipe adapted from Benjamini Ebuehi "The New Way to Cake"

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