Hey friends! Earlier this year I stumbled upon a cookbook that focused on boozy baked goods.   There, I learned of the concept of a champagne cake which just sounded amazing.  Who doesn’t love champagne and cake? I decided to take that concept up a notch with the addition of strawberries.  With Valentine’s Day coming around, it seemed like the perfect recipe to play with and share with you all.  So for all the lovers enjoy my version of a Strawberry Champagne Cake below!

The Recipe

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Strawberry Champagne Cake

Recipe creates two mini layered Strawberry Champagne Cakes.

Servings 2 mini layered cakes

Ingredients

Strawberry Champagne Cake

  • 1 lb Strawberries
  • 2/3 cup Champagne or Prosecco not too dry of a champagne
  • 1 stick Unsalted Butter softened
  • 1 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups Flour
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 2 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 pkg Strawberry Jello
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Champagne Buttercream

  • 3 sticks Unsalted Butter Room Temperature
  • 5 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Almond Extract
  • 2-3 drops Red Food Coloring
  • 1 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1 tbsp Champagne

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare four mini cake spring form pans with parchment paper for easy removal. 

  2. Remove strawberry tops and slice in half.  Puree in a food process until smooth.  If you have a thin mesh strainer, use to remove the seeds.  Also be sure to save a few strawberries for garnish. 

  3. In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar.  Add in vanilla extract and eggs.

  4. Next, add in strawberries and champagne.  Continue to blend on low speed.

  5. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and package of dry strawberry jello in separate bowl.  Slowly add dry ingredients to butter and sugar mixture careful not to over mix.  Add in a few drops of red food coloring for the desired color. 

  6. Pour mixture in to prepared pans and bake for 33-40 minutes on a baking sheet.  Be sure to use to a toothpick to check to see if the middle of the cake is done.  The mini cake pans often take longer than you would expect.

  7. While the cakes are baking and cooling, prepare the buttercream.  Start by creaming your butter until it is almost white.  Next add in powdered sugar one cup at a time.  Be sure it is completely blended before adding in the next cup.

  8. Then add in almond extract, champagne, red food coloring and heavy whipping cream. Add more whipping cream for a more whipped texture.  Be careful not to over blend and create air pockets. 

  9. Once the cake has cooled, frost the cake and garnish with strawberries. 

Tools

For this cake, I used the four inch wilton spring form pans.   I found them at Sur La Table, but you can also pick them up from Amazon.  You will need four of them to create the two layer cakes.  It also makes enough to make one large layer cake if that is what you prefer.

My strainer was not thin enough to remove the seeds, so I will be buying one soon.  If the thought of seeds floating around in your cake bothers you, consider purchasing the appropriate strainer, like the small one included in this set.

The Takeaway

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I created this cake a few times going with various methods including one that went with just egg whites.  Didn’t like it.  I also tried to avoid those pesky preservatives from the jello, but honestly folks you need them to get the traditional strawberry flavor that we have all grown to know and love. I am still playing this cake and may change the recipe as time goes on, but the current version is GOOD! It will impress whoever you place the cake in front of!