A few weeks ago, during my lunch break at work, I was on my computer browsing Amazon, seeing what movies I wanted to order and, most importantly, watch that weekend. I got a little sidetracked and ended up in the kitchen section and ordered, well, a bunch of things. If you’re like me and you watch South Park, then the episode Insecurity, will likely ring a bell in your head. Since I had ordered so many random things, I completely forgot about it until it ended up on my doorstep two days later. It’s kind of like when you go into Target, only to get some toothpaste and a birthday card, and walk out with half of the store in bags in your shopping cart, and you’re like…what did I buy? How did I get here? Amazon is kind of like that way with me but it’s even more fun because you get a package (or two) delivered to your door. Bonus.

One of the surprises that I opened were three mini cake pans* that I totally forgot about but was SO happy that I placed them in my cart. Cooking for one is nice because I don’t have to please a bunch of other people in my house, but it also can be hard because things like baked goods often serve around 8-12 people and most of it will go to waste sitting around my house. These mini cake pans* solve that problem. I’m able to test out recipes easily without feeling bad about having to throw out a bunch of cake. The first thing I decided on making/testing was strawberry cake. For some reason it just sounded delicious. This strawberry cake came out so flavorful and the cream cheese frosting made sure it wasn’t cloyingly sweet which is a problem I have with most cakes. Oh, and don’t worry, for this recipe I did test it out in the regular sized pans to make sure everything came out correctly, but if you do decide to try this recipe in mini-form, you just halve the recipe.

Strawberry Cake

For the cake:
(Adapted from Allrecipes)

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated, room temperature
2 cups white sugar
1 3oz package of strawberry Jell-O (I used regular NOT sugar-free)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberries, purreed until smooth

For the cream cheese frosting:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 80z package of cream cheese, softened
1 box of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and grease 3x 8inch pans. Then fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat only the egg whites until soft white peaks form. Scrape into another bowl and set aside.

In your stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, place the sugar, Jell-O mix, and the butter. Cream until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time and mix until fully combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Working a little at a time, mix in the flour into the batter, followed by a little of the milk, repeating until all of the flour and milk have been blended in. Mix in the vanilla and strawberry puree until smooth. Take the bowl off of the mixer and fold in the egg whites by hand until fully combined. Divide the batter among the three pans and place in the oven.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for about 15 minutes in their pans then take out and cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

For the frosting, in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla and beat until light and fluffly. On the completely cooled cakes (it’s very important that your cakes have been cooled down), place a good amount of frosting between each layer and spread a layer around the whole cake. Use a hot knife to cut the cake. Store covered in the fridge.

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