This is the saddest cake I have ever had to make. Our dearest momma died in January, a few weeks before her 89th birthday. I think we all felt the need to celebrate momma’s birthday…which I had almost always made her favorite cake which is vanilla cake with fresh strawberries and buttercream frosting. So…without further adue…here is the recipe for mommas special cake.
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
You will also need : 1 lb of fresh strawberries
place butter and sugar in your mixer bowl. Whip till light and fluffy. Now add eggs and blend them in well. Now add the baking powder, salt and vanilla. Blend well.
divide into 3 – 8 inch greased pans. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes. Now cool the cakes completely.
Now prepare the strawberries. Slice them thin and place on a cookie sheet lined with 2 layers of paper towels….this is an important step
After slicing the berries and spreading them on the paper towels, use 2 more layers to cover the berries and “blot” the extra moisture from them. This keeps the cake from getting too much of the juice from the strawberries. I came up with this idea years ago to make sure wedding cakes did not “bleed” when they were filled with fresh berries. It has saved me lots of headaches!
- 1 cup Crisco shortening
- 1 cup softened butter
- 2 lb bag powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, possibly a bit more
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
place the butter and Crisco into the mixer bowl. Mix till fluffy and no lumps. Now add the cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. Blend on very low speed till mixed, then whip it till nice and fluffy. This makes a really good frosting that works for any cake.
When the cakes are cooled, place the first layer on your cake plate, carefully slice in half, set the top aside then fill the layer with buttercream and top with a layer of strawberries. Now place the top half on the mixture. Put a layer of buttercream on the cake then place the second layer on and repeat the process.
Now begin to put the frosting on the outside of the cake, taking your time as you go to avoid excess crumbs.
A cake looks very messy as you work on it, but trust me, it will look beautiful when you are finished! I covered the top first, then placed the frosting on the sides. Then I smoothed it out. Then I used a piping bag with a small round tip. I did what is called cornellie lace, which is a series of s and c’s . It looks beautiful and hides lots of flaws ! LOL
For the top strawberries, I choose the best ones. I slice them a lot thicker than the ones I put in the cake. I get about 4 slices per berry. Then I place the slices on paper towels and blot them well. I make an oval of frosting using a medium star tip. I make one oval, then turn the cake and make an oval directly across from it. Then turn the cake and make ovals , then I place 2 ovals in between , filling in the empty spaces. You should have 12 ovals . Now follow the photo and place the well blotted berry slices on the cake.
Happy 89th Birthday our beautiful and fabulous Momma. I will forever make your special cake for your birthday. We will celebrate you for all the love you have given each of us. I personally will miss my biggest supporter and encourager, no matter what I was going through, you were always there to encourage me to dream big and to give me unconditional love. You, my dear momma were the best friend and buddy I have ever had. I love you dearly and will miss you forever. Now you are in the arms of Jesus.
I am the Pie Lady 