Painted Cake
A moist strawberry cake with a kiss of lemon covered in delicate buttercream flowers.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour ( 213g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ( 228g)
- 1 tsp baking powder (3g)
- ¼ tsp baking soda (1g)
- ¾ cup butter (176g, room temperature or melted)
- ¼ cup whole milk ( 60ml, warm)
- ¼ cup strawberry preserves ( 46g, strained, warm)
- ½ cup sour cream (120ml)
- 3 tsp vanilla extract (10g)
- 3 egg whites (large)
- Pink food coloring
- 1 lb confectioners sugar (462g)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter ( 228g, room temperature)
- 1 tbsp strawberry preserve (strained)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (strained)
- Pink, orange and green food coloring
Instructions
- 1
For the Cake:
- 2
Preheat oven to 340F. Butter and flour three 6-inch cake pans. Soak baking strips in water. Strain the strawberry preserves.
- 3
Sift dry ingredients (including sugar). Whisk to combine.
- 4
In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
- 5
Combine wet and dry mixtures. Whisk until combined. Add a few drops of pink food coloring until a desired consistency is reached. If the batter is lumpy, it’s okay!
- 6
Add damp baking strips to the cake pans.
- 7
Evenly distribute batter into pans. I like to use a kitchen scale for precision.
- 8
Bake for about 30- 35 minutes or until the centers are set and springy to the touch.
- 9
For the American Buttercream:
- 10
In a stand mixer, cream the butter until fluffy.
- 11
Sift in half of the confectioners sugar. Mix, then add the rest.
- 12
Squeeze lemon juice and combine.
- 13
Reserve ¼ cup of the white buttercream to dye green for the stems and leaves.
- 14
Transfer ½ the plain white buttercream from the standing mixer to a piping bag. Snip off the tip.
- 15
Add in 1 tbsp of strained strawberry preserves to the remaining buttercream. Mix until combined.
- 16
Save about 1-2 cups for the flowers in a separate bowl. Transfer the strawberry buttercream to a piping bag and snip off the tip.
- 17
Use food coloring to dye the buttercream different shades of pink to orange for the flowers.
- 18
For the Assembly:
- 19
Pipe the strawberry buttercream between each layer.
- 20
Crumb coat the cake and smooth with a scraper.
- 21
Pipe a thin layer of plain white buttercream on the outside of the cake. Even out with a hot scraper and offset spatula. Chill for about 30 minutes.
- 22
Using a palette knife, sculpt flowers from the pink and orange buttercream. Add details, stems and leaves.