I’ve realized that there are people out there who prefer vanilla cake over chocolate. It took me a while to comprehend what this actually meant. I seriously can’t imagine anyone not liking chocolate or wanting vanilla cake anything over chocolate. But my husband is one of these people.
And, with this cake, I get it.
I guess you can’t have chocolate cake all the time right?
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I decided to bake a strawberry cake for my husband! You guys, I loved this cake! The texture is perfect and the cake is subtly sweet and perfectly moist and filled with fresh strawberries. And the vanilla buttercream just ties everything together. I ate like two huge slices all by myself. And I attempted my first naked cake! Or semi naked “rustic” cake.
I always run my photos by my sister, Grace. And after showing her some of these, she told me I needed to finish frosting my cake. . she had never seen the rustic looking cakes before. And so after explaining what I was trying to do, she was like, “Oh so this is like a distressed barn look?” You should style it with barn accents!” I got a very good chuckle out of that comment.
So, after I frosted my distressed strawberry cake, it took forever for me to decide how I was going to style this cake. So, I shot it a few different ways.
She’s such a pretty girl (yes, my cake is a girl), she needed a little bonnet.
But then I played around with strawberries on top. And if you look closely, the strawberries kind of look like a heart.
These three ingredients make this cake. Especially 
So, say I love you this Valentine’s Day with this strawberry cake. You will love it!
I Love You Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups fresh strawberries diced + more for decoration if desired
For the buttercream frosting:
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 6 cups of powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk plus more if needed
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your 6 inch cake pans by lining them with parchment paper on the bottom and spraying with non-stick baking spray.
- Using your stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, mix together the butter until smooth. Add in the sugar and mix again. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add in the milk and the vanilla and mix one more time.
- In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. With the stand mixer on a low setting, slowly pour in the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Add in the fresh diced strawberries and mix together one more time.
- Evenly distribute the cake batter into all three cake pans and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before removing from the cake pans. *See my note above regarding freezing the cakes.
For the buttercream frosting:
- Using your stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, beat together the butter until smooth and add in the vanilla and salt and mix again. Add in the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time, while also alternating and pouring in the milk, just a little at a time until you have a buttercream that you are happy with. I'm usually good with about 6 cups of powdered sugar but feel free to use more or less depending on your taste preference.
To assemble:
- At this point, you can cut one cake layer into a smaller round cake. I just eye balled it and cut. Frost the bottom cake layer with some buttercream frosting and top with the second cake layer. Frost the top of the second layer and top with the third layer. Frost the top of the third layer and using an offset spatula, apply some frosting (you can either use a lot or start with a little) all around the cake. If wanting to do the naked "rustic" cake look, use your offset spatula to then remove some of the frosting, exposing some of the cake. The frosting recipe makes enough frosting to frost the entire cake. So, if you do this rustic cake look, you will have leftover frosting.
I’m joining some friends this week and we’re celebrating vanilla . . and we’re kicking it off today! So, check out all of the other fabulous recipes today using vanilla and enter the giveaway below! And check back here all week for some great posts!
Vanilla Week!!
Hello and welcome to #VanillaWeek hosted by Terri from 
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. The giveaway is sponsored by Nielsen-Massey, Bob’s Red Mill, Silpat, Quirk Books and Dixie Crystals/Imperial Sugar. Nielsen-Massey products can be purchased at Williams-Sonoma. All Nielsen-Massey products are gluten-free, allergen-free, GMO-free and Kosher.
Alice, this cake is gorgeous!! I love the strawberries on top too. And believe it or not, as much as I am obsessed with chocolate, when it comes to cake, vanilla is my favorite too! I love the clean pure rich taste of vanilla. I like lots of vanilla and sweet icing…oh man, it’s the best! I can see why your husband loves it!! Oh and I use that vanilla too, it’s delicious. 🙂
I still demand my chocolate cake, lol. This strawberry cake is perfect for Valentine and my husband is a huge fan of strawberry, which adds another reason to bake this cake. And what a lovely looking cake. I totally adore how simple and gorgeous it is….
I love cake and love strawberries. This is a beautiful tribute to your hubby and I love the styling & those blooms.
This is some kind of gorgeous, Alice! My husband is like yours with the vanilla cake, and I go chocolate every time. But when done right, vanilla rocks.
And this is just too beautiful. That one shot of the whole cake with the giant slice taken out…be still my strawberry heart!
This cake is gorgeous, Alice! I love the look of the distressed cake, so beautiful! And the fact that it’s strawberry flavored is even better. This belongs in a bakery, friend!
So this is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen. EVER. EVER EVER.
Also – distressed barn look cake. I am totally calling that as a trend for 2015!
Just beautiful Alice!
Katie would pick a vanilla cake over a chocolate every time! Crazy, but now that I see your gorgeous strawberry cake, I might be a convert, too!!! Well done, my friend!!!
Haha…I love the distressed cake look! It’s totally my style. And for the record, I will take a vanilla cake over a strawberry cake any day of the week. This looks delicious! Pinning now!
Oh my gosh, Alice! Could this cake seriously get any more gorgeous?! You really do make the most beautiful cakes. Love the “rustic” look and all those gorgeous strawberries! I need someone to make me this cake for V-Day!
OH my goodness! I’m a huge fan of chocolate, but this cake- THIS cake is amazing! SO gorgeous! I am seriously in LOVE with the rustic frosting! And I bet it tastes fantastic!
I just love vanilla cake and this one looks beautiful! Great job Alice!
This is absolutely lovely honeybun. I can definitely see why you had 2 big slices to yourself!
This cake is gorgeous! I seriously need to start making some Valentine’s treats 🙂
What a beautiful looking cake. Really incredible!
This is just beautiful, Alice. You have really outdone yourself. I’m so impressed with this cake. She is a doll! I’m definitely a chocolate girl, but I do love me some good old fashion vanilla pudding!
Alice this cake is just beautiful! I love the naked cake look so much. The fresh strawberry flavor with vanilla sound lovely. I couldn’t agree more with using quality cake flour and vanilla too- they produce such a lovely texture and flavor that just cannot compare! Thanks for sharing this beautiful cake.
My favorite vanilla food is actually homemade vanilla ice cream! I am a fan of anything chocolate, there is no such thing as too much chocolate but my husband is a fan of both strawberry and vanilla so I am definitely going to try this one!
Alice, I love you for making this cake! As a strawberry addict, I am a huge fan of this cake. And it is gorgeous! Seriously, stunning! Now, I would just love a big piece of it for breakfast 😉
The most beautiful distressed barn looking cake I’ve ever seen! Like your hubby, I love vanilla cake, too! This is perfect!! Pinned!
“Distressed barn look” ha ha ha ha that is awesome!! This cake is absolutely gorgeous, and I am one of those people that prefers vanilla cake over chocolate!
I know, right?!! I couldn’t stop laughing when my sister said that!
What a gorgeous cake, Alice! I absolutely love the ‘rustic’ look!! My husband is more of a ‘vanilla man’ too and this cake would make his day!
This cake is stunning, Alice! I love the rustic look. It would actually be a very pretty cake for a small country wedding! Perfectly distressed! 😉
Oh Alice, I am so in LOVE with this cake. It’s so beautiful and what a great job in styling. I love the flowers (cala lilies :)) and the strawberries. I am one of those people who would have vanilla cake any day over chocolate. Not even blinking when I choose lol!
Oooh… narrowing it down? Hmm… I’d have to say vanilla bean pots de creme. YUM!
Your cake is gorgeous, BTW!!!
I love this cake, Alice! Simply Gorge! Pinned!
While I love chocolate cake, I’ll take vanilla cake too! Haha Yes, I’m out of control. I’ll take anything cake!
I love this distressed barn look too! 🙂
Alice, this cake is gorgeous, and I love the “distressed’ look! I like frosting, but in smaller quantities because it can be too sweet, so this sounds perfect for me. Plus I hate feeling like my cakes need to be frosted perfectly, so I’m glad it’s acceptable to go rustic. 🙂 While chocolate is my fave, I have a big place in my heart for vanilla, and the strawberries sound divine! Pinned. 🙂
Alice,
This cake is so gorgeous! What a great Valentine’s Day treat. And I agree – who wouldn’t want a chocolate cake, but my family is exactly like yours. All of them (including my two little girls) like vanilla over chocolate, and that goes for everything. It sort of drives me nuts, but I’m beginning to appreciate vanilla cakes and desserts 🙂 I love your sister’s comment about the distressed barn look! My cousin had a rustic wedding cake at her reception last summer, and some of my aunts were confused – they asked why the cake wasn’t finished! Lol! I love the way it looks – especially with the fresh flowers on top.
I love the “distressed barn look” too – I’m not good at frosting cakes, so this is a technique I could definitely use and say I did it on purpose. Love the flowers you used to garnish this cake. Lucky husband of yours 😉
OK, so what I want to know is how you were able to try all the different ways of styling it without being tempted to just dig in right away! It’s gorgeous and looks soooo delicious!
This cake is so incredibly gorgeous!!!
Oh Alice, I am totally in love with this cake! It’s seriously stunning!!! The rustic look is my favorite and you styled it so beautifully with the pretty flowers and strawberries! I have always loved the vanilla and strawberry combo (hehe my husband is the chocoholic) so this cake was meant just for me! That gorgeous slice up there is mine right? 🙂 <3 this!
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. Your cake is stunning, Alice, as are these photos. I love the distressed barn look, lol. And the flowers and strawberries are the perfect decoration. I didn’t get on-board the vanilla train until recently. My younger self would have ALWAYS chosen chocolate cake but there’s something so classic and unassuming about vanilla. I love this!
Strawberry cupcakes are actually my favorite cupcake so this cake sounds perfect! Love the name, too.
My favorite vanilla flavored food is vanilla ice cream. Of course, I have to smother it in chocolate syrup!
Chocolate all the way but with this cake, I get it.
Thank you so much, Carmen! I seriously ate half of this cake on my own! so good!
Holy moly! I can’t believe you made this, this is ART! Oh wow Alice, I am stunned! 🙂
This is just about the most gorgeous cake I’ve ever laid eyes upon! I can’t even decide which way I like it better, with the “bonnet” or the berries! Either way it’s just perfection and all those fresh strawberries running throughout are totally making me drool 😉
Wow, what a gorgeous cake! I’ve never understood people who don’t like chocolate either, but I do really love strawberry cake. Love your rustic, distressed and barn-accented decorations. 🙂 The flowers and strawberries are perfect!
Oh my god?! This is beautiful! I’m obsessing over the decor with the flowers. So pretty 🙂
That’s me – vanilla over chocolate any day. And then you put strawberries in too?? Yum! This cake is a stunner, Alice.
I fell IN LOVE with this cake when I first saw it on Instagram! It’s so elegant, and I love all those floral accents on there. Where do you get your flowers?? The florist? Farmers market?
Such a gorgeous cake. I love the pic with the strawberries too – love that pop of color! Thank you for participating Alice. I definitely want a slice of this cake like now!
Alice, I’m in super love with your cake! Those layers are gorgeous!
Wow Alice, this is a sensational strawberry cake! I’m with you on the chocolate option, by far my favorite, but this one is so beautiful! Very shabby chic!
Oh my goodness- this cake is absolute GORGEOUS! 🙂 Love this!
Your rustic cake is simply PERFECT, Alice! Seriously…your food styling here is just so whimsical, not to mention the cake looks so yummy!
I always love vanilla cake 🙂
Homemade vanilla ice cream is my favorite!
This cake is so beautiful and I’m going to try to make this for Valentines Day!
So awesome to hear, Cindy!!! Please let me know how it turns out! Hope you love it!! 🙂
I love the bonnet on this stunning cake and I also like the strawberries, Alice!
My favorite vanilla flavored food would be vanilla ice cream. So, so delicious.