Strawberry Crunch Layer Cake

I am not a baker by nature, but somehow have become the unofficial family Birthday Cake baker over the years. I have always held the philosophy that everyone should have exactly what they want, at least for one day out of the year. Not too much to ask, right?

When my sister requested a Strawberry Crunch Layer Cake for her 50th a few months ago, I was more than happy to fulfill her request. I filed the recipe away and didn’t look at it again until a week before her Birthday. Think about the old school ice cream bars we used to buy at school.

When time came to start planning the menu and shopping for ingredients, I pulled up the recipe again and Eeek… this recipe was very complicated. Instructions were all over the place and not to mention confusing. Did I mention I was also making the other food and hosting the party?! I had no clue what I was getting myself into.

I dove head first into this challenge as I have never made a four-layer cake with alternating layers. After taking a few days to make the cake (I didn’t want to be overwhelmed), I immediately knew a few things could be simplified. I decided to adapt the recipe to be easier to read/comprehend and added a few tips to simplify the recipe which will make your life much easier, if you choose to use them. The results will be the exact same.

Just a note: I use all organic ingredients, where available for taste and health. I was able to find everything organic, minus the freeze-dried strawberries. All ingredients were found at Kroger and Costco. Both of which have great organic selections.

Without further southern gal chit-chat, here is my cake version of the famous “bunch-a-crunch” ice cream bars we used to eat in school. Your choice was either chocolate or strawberry. You couldn’t beat getting a dessert for $.25! 

Strawberry Crunch Cake

Ingredients and Instructions

Strawberry Puree

• 4 and 3/4 cups of chopped strawberries

To make the puree:

Add the strawberries to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a slow boil, stirring consistently to keep it from burning, until it has thickened and reduced by half to a little less than 1/2 a cup, about 10-15 minutes. To measure, pour the puree into a measuring cup. If it’s too much, add it back to the pan and continue cooking.
2. When the puree has thickened and reduced, pour into a large measuring cup and allow to cool to at least room temperature.

This puree can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Shortcake Crunchies

• 1 cup(130g) all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 cup(155g) sugar, divided (omit sugar if using sandwich cookies in tip below)
• 3/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries
• 7 tbsp (98g) salted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the crunchies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. You’ll need two bowls – one for the vanilla crunchies and one for the strawberry. Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar to each bowl.
   Add the freeze-dried strawberries to a food processor and grind into a powder. Add the powder to the bowl for the strawberry crunchies. Stir well to combine.
   4. Add four tablespoons of butter to the strawberry bowl and the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of butter to the vanilla bowl and use a fork to combine each mixture until it comes together to form a crumble.
   5. Lay the strawberry crumble evenly out onto one of the cookie sheets and ay the vanilla crumble evenly out onto the other cookie sheet.
   6. Bake the crumbles for about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, particularly the strawberry crumble. The strawberry powder can brown quickly if left in for too long.
   7. Let crumble cool completely and then use your fingers to break into smaller pieces, if needed. It’s ideal for the crumble pieces to be no larger than a small pea.
   8. Combine all of the crunchie pieces together and gently toss to combine.

These can be made ahead of time and stored on the counter.

A simplified version:

Use a package vanilla filled sandwich cookies, crumble them in the food processor, toss with butter and crushed freeze-dried strawberries and bake in the oven on 350°F (176°C) for 5-7 minutes. No need to add sugar.

Strawberry Frosting

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp strawberry puree (1 3/4 cups [233g] chopped strawberries)
• 1 1/4 cups(280g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 cups(575g) powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch or two of salt

To make the strawberry frosting:

1. Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
   2. Add about half of the powdered sugar and beat until well combined and smooth.
   5. Add about half of the strawberry puree and beat until well combined and smooth.
   6. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix until well combined.
   7. Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until well combined and smooth.
   8. Add additional strawberry reduction/milk or cream until your frosting is the right consistency.

Vanilla Frosting

• 2 1/2 cups(560g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 10 cups(1150g) powdered sugar (I felt this was too much and would reduce down to 9 or less depending on taste as this was way too sweet for my taste)
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4–6tbsp water or cream
• Pinch or two of salt

To make the vanilla frosting:

1. Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
   2. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
   3. Add the vanilla extract and 4 tablespoons of water or cream and mix until smooth.
   4. Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional water or cream, as needed to get the right consistency of frosting.

Frostings can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Make sure to bring it to room temperature and beat with a mixer again to fluff it up.

Cake Layers

• 1 1/2 cups strawberry puree (3 cups [420g] chopped strawberries)
• 3 cups plus 2 tbsp (406g) all-purpose flour 
• 3 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 10 tbsp (140g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (150ml) vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp (388g) sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 5large eggs
• 3/4 cups plus 1 tbsp (195ml) milk, divided
• 1 1/4 tsp strawberry extract
• 15 drops red food coloring (choose an all-natural OR add crushed freeze-dried strawberries until desired color is achieved (I didn’t use either and you can see the faint pink color of the layers)

To make the cake layers:

1. Add the strawberry puree to a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a slow boil, stirring consistently to keep it from burning, until it has thickened and reduced by half to 3/4 cup, about 15-20 minutes. To measure, pour the puree into a measuring cup. If it’s more than 3/4 cup, add it back to the pan and continue cooking. *Note this is used in the frosting and strawberry cake layers (After making the frosting, I recommend using the remaining puree, in between the layers lightly spread as opposed to going to the trouble to make strawberry layers, see simplified version below).
   2. When the puree has thickened and reduced, pour into a measuring cup and allow to cool to at least room temperature. This strawberry mixture can be made ahead, if you like, and stored in the fridge.
   3. Prepare four 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
   4. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside (I sifted all together for light layers).
   5. Add the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
   6. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
   7. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
   8. Add 1 tablespoon of the milk and mix just until combined.
   9. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Batter will be thick. Do not over mix.
   10. Divide the batter evenly between two bowls. It should be a little more than 3 cups each.
   11. Add the remainder of the milk (3/4 cup) to one of the bowls and gently fold to combine. Add the reduced strawberry puree, strawberry extract and red food coloring to the other bowl and gently fold together to combine.
   12. Divide each batter evenly between two pans, for four pans total, and bake the layers for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.

A simplified version:

There wasn’t a huge difference in taste alternating cake layers. This, in my opinion, seemed more for presentation when you slice it. That being said, I found this is a lot of work for little results. Next time, I would just do four layers of vanilla cake and then just use the extra strawberry puree on in between the layers. You will achieve the same amount of strawberry flavor.

Assembling the cake:

1. Use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat. These cakes don’t have a large dome, but I like to make sure they’re completely flat.
2.  Place the first layer of strawberry cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
3. Pipe a dam of vanilla frosting around the outer edge of the cake and fill it with about 1 cup of strawberry frosting. Spread evenly on top of the cake
4.  Place the first layer of vanilla cake on top of the frosting, then top it with another dam of vanilla frosting and fill it with another cup of strawberry frosting.
5. Add the second layer of strawberry cake, another dam of vanilla frosting and fill it with another cup of strawberry frosting.
6. Add the final layer of vanilla cake on top, then frost the outside of the cake with the rest of the vanilla frosting.
7. Press the strawberry crunchies into the frosting and cover the entire cake with them. The vanilla buttercream will crust over as it sits, so you want to add the crunchies immediately after frosting the cake or they won’t stick.
8. Use the remaining vanilla frosting to pipe some swirls on top of the cake and finish it off with some fresh strawberries (I refrigerated mine after I decorated it with fresh strawberries and removed from the refrigerator about an hour before serving). You can always wait to decorate with strawberries until right before serving.
9. The cake should be stored in an air tight container until serving. It’s fine at room temperature for a day or so, but after that you’ll want to refrigerate.  Cake is best served closer to room temperature and should be eaten within 3-4 days.

This cake is truly a labor of love so my recommendation is to make as much ahead if time as possible as this cake can be a bit overwhelming to do in one day. Decorating the cake is subjective. I am not great at using tips to frost, so I chose to use halved strawberries in the center and cut tips off of halved strawberries to finish off the bottom edging.

I served this with vanilla ice cream because what's a birthday without the ice cream!

I would love to know what you think and if you bake it, how your turned out.

Happy Baking and Blessings,

Meredeth