It is VEGAN and BUTTER FREE.
But all this was not in the plan. I was cleaning up strawberries and my son entered the kitchen .With a big smile on his face and sparkle in his eyes he said “ Mamma can you make a strawberry cake for me please .. please please please!!! Well how could I say a no. I told him give me sometime and the cake will be ready before your dinner.
I love fresh fruits in my cake but sometimes they tend to ruin the Ph balance and taste funny. Luckily this experiment was a sweet success and hence I am all excited to share it with you. This recipe is adapted from my eggless vanilla cake recipe which is incredibly moist and has never failed me.
It all started with gathering and measuring the ingredients. I then sprinkled some sugar on the strawberries so that it releases it’s juice and then after 30 minutes I pureed it. I decided to make it like a sheet cake because the plan was not to frost it. Just enjoy it out of the oven . But my son had different plans altogether.
After I sliced the cake and my son was busy enjoying the tender crumb he said “mamma how about some chocolate on it. “ Hmmm why not!! I wondered as Strawberry and Chocolate are like match made in heaven . While pulling out cream from the fridge to prepare the ganache I saw a packet of cream cheese which was soon gonna be expired. I thought why not whip up a quick strawberry cream cheese frosting too as the entire combination will taste killer. We enjoyed half of the plain strawberry cake sponge that night and shared some with our neighbors . As the cake has no extra artificial strawberry flavoring/ essence or pudding mix the cake had a subtle but a refreshing and lovely strawberry taste. So I thought topping it with strawberry cream cheese frosting is a good idea. This would be like an added bonus for us “ strawberry lovers” .
After dinner and clean up I prepared both the frostings. Kept the ganache at room temperature to set and cream cheese frosting in the fridge. The next morning I again prepared one more batch of this delicious fresh strawberry cake. I like how this cake is fuss free and comes together with ingredients found at home without any special trip to the grocery store. Make sure you have loads of strawberries 🙂 I let the cake cool down completely. Then wrapped the cake in cling wrap and foil and placed it in the fridge for 3-4 hours for easy handling while frosting. After picking up my son from school we ( my sous chef – my son) quickly frosted the cake . We did not fill this cake with frosting. Only topped it and served as sheet cake squares.Topped it with more strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate ganache. You may fill and frost the entire cake with frosting if desired.
My son helping me frost the cake. It’s a great after school activity 🙂Don’t judge us for having so much cake . Make it yourself and you will realize what you were missing in life.
It makes a lovely bake for any occasion . Valentine’s is around the corner so you know what you have to bake next.
I even have a lovely tip for you. If you are baking in a sheet pan or a larger surface pan like the one below , after adding the batter to the pan consider adding a rose pin in the center . This will ensure uniform heat distribution and your cake will bake with a flat top and evenly . For detailed Chocolate Ganache recipe – click here . Chocolate Ganache used to frost the top of this cake – 150 ml / 1 tablespoon less than ¾ cup approx full fat coconut milk. 175 grams/ 1 cup approx vegan chocolate – dairy free. Notes- If you aren’t vegan then you may sub coconut milk with heavy cream and vegan chocolate with semi sweet baking chocolate or choco chips. For detailed cream cheese frosting recipe – Click here . Vegan Strawberry cream cheese frosting measures used for this cake to cover only the top- 8 oz vegan cream cheese bar at room temperature ½ cup / 4 oz vegan butter stick at room temperature 3.5 – 4 cups vegan powdered sugar ( organic is vegan) 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1-2 tablespoon strawberry jam/ preserves (organic is vegan ) 2 drops of pink food color Note- If you are not vegan then feel free to use regular full fat cream cheese , confectionery sugar, butter and jam of your choice . Final note- If you are an ardent strawberry lover and do not want anything overpowering it’s taste then I recommend you to skip the ganache as chocolate is a bit overpowering here. Saying that , adding chocolate cuts on the sweetness of the top cream cheese frosting. Overall I felt it was a lovely combination of flavors mingling seamlessly. But feel free to add or skip the frosting. Pin this recipe for later use 🙂
Hope you like this recipe and do give it a try. I would love to hear from you. Do leave me your valuable comments and suggestions below . You can even leave me a message on my Facebook page Carveyourcraving. NEW FIND Did you know that Pinterest has an exciting new feature . The “Tried it” button that lets you check off recipes that you have tried and leave your reviews. You can leave a special note or add your valuable tip for other readers as well. All you have to do is log into your Pinterest account . You will find a check mark on the top of every recipe or project that you have pinned . Check the ones you are done with and leave a review if desired ? Never miss a recipe . If you like being here do subscribe to my blog. Are we friends yet . Let’s connect on- Facebook| Instagram | Pintrest | Twitter Happy cooking! Do share it with the world!
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