Strawberry Cake

One of my favourite types of cake is the strawberry cake. Strawberry cakes have a wonderful sweet flavour, and are perfect for any occasion, from a cup of coffee with loved ones, to a full blown wedding reception. Over the years, the humble strawberry cake has risen in popularity across the globe.

Before we talk about the uses and different types of strawberry cakes, a little background on the main ingredient. That is, the strawberry. Strawberries were first discovered by a French naval officer during a trip to Chile. When he came across these little red bundles of sweetness, he decided he had to take some home and breed them, and the rest is history. Nowadays there are hundreds of different breeds of strawberries that you can choose from, with many varied uses. Strawberries are a great ingredient for all types of recipes, including deserts, jams and preserves, ice creams, milk shakes and yogurts. And of course, cakes.

The strawberry holds great symbolism for many people. Traditionally, the strawberry is though to symbolise purity, sensuality and fertility. It is also a great symbol of love, because of it's vibrant red colour and its love heart shape. In the lead up to Valentines Day and Mothers Day, you can't walk down the street without seeing strawberries in all different types of shops. As well as their wonderful symbolic value, the strawberry has great health benefits. It is high in vitamin c, the small seeds throughout the fruit are a great source of fibre, and they have absolutely no fat. They do have natural sugars, so you need to be careful, like with any type of food, not to over indulge.

Growing Strawberries

Strawberries can be really fun to grow at home. The kids will love the fact that they can go out into the backyard and pick those juicy red strawberries whenever they feel like it, and the joy that comes from seeing something that you planted bear fruit is one of the best experiences a child can have. Strawberries grow best in raised beds, and professional growers will usually cover the bed in black plastic to keep the weeds at bay. The best way to start growing strawberries is from cuttings of their runners. They can be propagated from seed, but this is generally a lot more time consuming, and people really only do so as a hobby. Once planted, strawberry plants will usually bear good fruit for a couple of years, at which time you should replace your plants with new runners and start again.

The strawberry cake can be used for just about any occasion. People bake strawberry cakes for birthdays, to say happy anniversary to a loved one, and even as wedding cakes. Of course, you don't need an excuse to bake a strawberry cake, you can just bake one for the sake of baking one, and sit down with a nice hot tea or coffee and enjoy it. There are many different types of strawberry cakes that you can create, such as pecan, shortcut, strawberry cheesecake and cupcakes (which are great for afternoon teas with family or friends.

Strawberry Cake Recipe

Here is an easy recipe to make your first strawberry cake. You will need a greased cake tin, a mixer, a measuring cup and a mixing bowl. You will also need an oven, preferably fan forced and preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. As well as these utensils, you will need the following ingredients...

• 2 Cups of Mashed Strawberries (plus another 6 or so for slicing and decorating)
• 1/2 Cup Strawberry Yogurt (this will help to keep the cake moist)
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 4 Eggs
• 250gr Butter
• 1.5 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• Pecans or Walnuts

Directions

Sift the sugar, flour, baking powder and pinch of salt and mix. Melt the butter and mix into the flour mixture with the mashed strawberries, eggs and milk. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into a greased and floured baking tray. and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. This time may very depending on your oven. Poke the cake with a skewer, and if it comes out clean, it is ready to take out.

Let it cool and top with crushed nuts and strawberry slices.

If you are able to, a great idea is to have a different shaped cake tin to add to the effect. A heart shaped strawberry cakes creates a great effect for special occasions such as Mothers Day or Valentines Day.

If you are able to resist the temptation of sitting down and eating the strawberry cake straight away, you should look at covering it and putting it in the fridge to keep it fresh. If you glaze the cake with some melted sugar, it will help to keep the cake moist for a longer period of time. But who can store a strawberry cake? After all that hard work, you deserve to sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy the "fruits" of your labour.