For Easter I wanted to make a spectacular gift for my guests, and after careful contemplation I decided to make a champagne strawberry tart. I thought this was perfect for two reasons. First, it has been a long winter without fresh berries. Stores are filling their shelves with lush, ripe berries, and I want to get in! Second, I thought strawberries mixed with champagne would be the perfect celebration cake to eat when I saw the marriage of Prince William and Princess Kate. Yes, I woke up at 4am to watch the festivities, and yes, I had strawberry champagne cake at 8am! I had planned to have a glass of strawberry-flavored rosé champagne along with my slice of cake, but sadly, I couldn’t bring myself to do it this early in the day.
Anyway, I searched online and found a recipe that looked pretty good. And then I made it spectacular by adding my own special keys. I also have a favorite buttercream frosting recipe that I always use, and I used it for this cake, adding extra delicious toppings. There is a lot of debate when it comes to changing a recipe: some are for and some are against. I think it is essential to keep the liquid ingredients to dry in much the same way as the recipe calls for. But when it comes to adding fresh fruit, chocolate, nuts, I say swoon! Take a look at it, make sure it looks (smells) good, and go to town. These little touches really make a recipe spectacular.
To make the cake even more special, I decided to add fresh strawberries and ganache to the center instead of just the strawberry buttercream frosting. This is a good idea in theory, however, I don’t recommend using fresh fruit in a cake. I ended up getting little squirts from my cake, and had a very sticky puddle on my cake plate. The sugar in the glaze brings out the juices in the fresh fruit. If you intend to use fresh berries (like I do), I would recommend making a strawberry sauce (or any other fruit or berries). This way, you’ll still have the fresh ingredients without the sticky mess.
The cake was a hit! My family loved it, and my uncle even said it would have to be his next birthday cake (what a compliment!). I think of all the desserts I’ve made, this is a fan favorite.
Strawberry Champagne Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
3 cups of cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of champagne
½ cup mashed strawberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup fresh strawberries, chopped
4 egg whites
Beat the butter and sugar until smooth and smooth. Add the egg and mix until completely incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine and sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a plate, combine the puree and champagne. Alternatively, add the flour and strawberry mixtures to the butter mixture. Start and finish with flour for a fluffy cake. Add the vanilla. Add the strawberries, mixing until just incorporated. Fold the egg whites in half and then fold in the rest.
I like to put the batter in a piping bag to fill the cupcake liners. The dough should come to just over 3/4 of the can.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
1 cup of butter
1 package (2 pounds) caster sugar
topping 1/3 cup of strawberry puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate shavings to decorate
Beat the butter until light and fluffy. With continuous mixing, add a little powdered sugar (add a little strawberry puree if it gets too thick). Keep adding the sugar in small increments until it is completely mixed with the butter. Add the rest of the strawberry puree and the vanilla. If the frosting is still thick, add some champagne! Add chocolate shavings on top of the frosted cupcake for a decadent treat!
Happy baking!