Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling

This vanilla cake with strawberry filling recipe is a delicious layer cake with vanilla white cake, strawberry cake filling, and ermine frosting!

Vanilla and strawberry is such a classic flavor combination.  And, it's even better in cake form!

I love this vanilla cake recipe because it's super simple and doesn't require any crazy ingredients. No cake flour, buttermilk, or whipping up a separate bowl of egg whites. 

It's simple, easy, and makes a delicious and moist vanilla white cake.  And, you can change the flavors by adding almond extract or lemon extract if desired. 

Paired with the whipped cream like ermine frosting, and thick and luscious strawberry cake filling (that doesn't leak or get the cake soggy), this cake is a go to dessert recipe in spring and summer. 

But the strawberry filling can be made with frozen strawberries, so you can have this delicious dessert year round! 

Why you'll love it:

• Crowd Pleaser: This is such a popular cake for summer BBQs, potlucks, and parties!
• Customizable: Hate ermine frosting? Use your favorite buttercream or cream cheese frosting recipe! 
• Make Ahead: You can make the cake 1-2 days in advance and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve! 

Ingredients

• Strawberries: both fresh and frozen work in the filling recipe. Of course, more fresh strawberries are perfect for decorating the finished cake.
• Cornstarch: This is used in both the filling and the cake. 
• Vanilla Extract: You can also use vanilla bean paste or a whole vanilla bean for the vanilla flavor. You can also add a bit of almond extract to compliment if desired. 
• Canola Oil: You can use any neutral flavored oil such as canola oil or vegetable oil. This helps keep the cake nice and moist! 

Frosting Alternatives

For this strawberry and vanilla cake recipe I've used Ermine frosting, also known as boiled milk frosting.  It uses a boiled flour and milk mixture to create a roux, which is then whipped with butter. 

It sounds strange, but it tastes very similar to whipped cream, but since it has butter in it is more sturdy and stable for layer cakes. 

But, you can use your favorite buttercream or cream cheese frosting recipe. 

Here are some of my favorites that go really well with the vanilla cake and strawberry cake filling:

• Vanilla Buttercream: this is the easiest frosting to make, it’s an American buttercream that has only 4 ingredients and takes 10 minutes. 
• Chocolate Buttercream: This is the chocolate version of American buttercream frosting. Super easy and delicious!  Cooled Chocolate Ganache also works for a richer chocolate flavor. 
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream: This recipe uses egg whites for silky smooth frosting that is much less sweet than American Buttercream. 
• Cream Cheese Frosting: Both vanilla cream cheese frosting and chocolate cream cheese frosting pair well with this cake! 
• Lemon Frosting:   Lemon flavor also pairs really well with the vanilla cake and strawberry flavors! Both Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting are delicious.
• Strawberry Frosting: you can't go wrong with more strawberry flavor for a delicious strawberry vanilla cake! 

You'll need about 4 cups of frosting for the cake (and more if you're piping extra on top) so I recommend 1.5 or doubling the recipes.  

How to Make

Step 1: Make Strawberry Filling

This filling can be made a day in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Here is the full detailed recipe of making strawberry cake filling.  

Start with cutting up the strawberries. The bigger the pieces, the bigger the pieces of berries in the filling. They will break down a lot while cooking, and even more if made in advance.  

Mix the cornstarch and water in a medium saucepan until it is fully combined and there are no lumps of cornstarch. Add in the remaining ingredients of sugar, strawberries, vanilla extract and lemon juice, and bring to a boil over medium to medium high heat. Let boil for 30-60 seconds to activate the cornstarch. Do not over boil or the cornstarch can lose its thickening ability.

Once it starts to boil it should go from a milky pink color to a deeper red color. Turn down the heat to a simmer, and simmer for 8-10 minutes until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula and not drip off.

Let cool completely and/or store in the refrigerator before using.   I do not recommend making this and freezing it as the texture can get spongy. 

Step 2: Make Vanilla Cake

Preheat the oven to  350 ℉.   Prepare two 8 inch baking pans with baking spray and line with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder. Set aside until ready to use. 

Then, in the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a hand held mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure it's properly mixed. It should be light and fluffy. 

Slowly add the egg whites, one at a time.  Mix fully after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.  Mix in the oil and vanilla extract until incorporated. 

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the whole milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients (three additions of flour and two of milk). 

Do not overmix, you want to stop as soon as all the flour is incorporated. If you overmix it can made the cake tough and dry. 

Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. 

Bake in the preheated oven 25-30 minutes, or until you can poke the middle of the cakes with a toothpick and it comes out mostly clean or with only a few crumbs on it.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Step 3: Make Frosting

In a medium saucepan mix the milk, sugar, and flour. Cook over medium heat about 2-4 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken and bubble. It should be a thick, pudding like consistency.

Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap does not need to be pressed against the mixture.

Let the mixture cool for 1-2 hours at room temperature or 30 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator.  It must be completely cool before adding to the butter, or it will melt the frosting. 

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using a large bowl with a hand held mixer, mix the softened butter for 3-5 minutes until it is smooth and pale yellow.

Slowly add the cooled flour sugar roux 1-2 tablespoons at a time.  Make sure it is fully in incorporated before adding more of the roux. 

Once all the roux is added, turn up the speed to medium mix for another 3-5 minutes. This gets the frosting light and fluffy and it should expand in size. 

Mix in the vanilla and salt and remix until combined.  

Step 4: Frost and Enjoy!

Frost the completely cool cake by placing the first layer on a place, cake stand, or turntable. I do recommend you pipe a damn or boarder of frosting around the edges of the cake filling.  You can use a pastry bag with a large tip, or use a ziplock bag with the tip cut off. 

Then, fill in the middle with the strawberry filling and add the second layer of cake.  Frost the cake with a knife or offset spatula, using it to smooth out the frosting. I have a detailed post on frosting a layer cake.

For this two layer cake I did not use a turntable, but instead frosted directly on the cake stand and used a small spatula to make the groves by running it around the cake.

Then, top the cake with extra cake filling, fresh strawberries, sprinkles, or any other decoration if desired.  If adding more piped frosting on top of the cake, I recommend doubling this Ermine Frosting Recipe as the recipe below makes just enough to frost the cake without any additional piping. 

Tips and Tricks

• Measure your flour correctly by weighing or using the spoon and swipe method of spooning the flour into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife.  If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour, it packs down and you will add too much flour to your recipe. 
• Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature, including butter, egg whites, and milk.
• The strawberry filling can be made a day in advance and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator (it will get thicker and more stable and gelatinous in the fridge).
• This recipe is for a two layer 8 inch layer cake, but it can also be made into a 3 layer six in cake. 
• If you want to pipe extra buttercream on top of the cake or add a thicker layer of frosting, I recommend doubling the this Ermine Frosting Recipe. 
• Make sure the cake has cooled completely before frosting, or else it can melt the frosting.

FAQ and Troubleshooting

Storing and Making Ahead

The strawberry cake filling can be made a day of ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

The frosted and assembled cake can be stored in the refrigerator up to a day ahead of time.  Let come to room temperature before serving. 

Any leftover cake will last up to three days in the refrigerator stored in an airtight container such as a cake container. 

Looking for more cake recipes? Check these out!

• Italian Hangover Cake
• Pink Champagne Cake
• Jar Cakes
• Mini Layer Cakes

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