Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sweet Strawberry Cake & Sweet Mothers






A mother, mom, mum, momma or mama, is a woman who has conceived, given birth to, or raised a child in the role of a parent.[1] Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother to suit a universally accepted definition.









It is very hard to please everyone when defining a mother, if we all had to define our mother I would venture to say that some would not even describe the person whose belly they filled.


Now I am a mother, and I will absolutely do my best to make sure Indigo does not have any bad feelings towards her Mother "experience". I will fight with all my will power to provide her with Love, listening ears, an understanding heart, and deep belly laughs.









I will kiss her sweet face for as long as she lets me.


I will laugh at her jokes.


I will read her stories until one day she is reading them to me.


I will let her know that she is so beautiful in more ways than one, and then I’ll hug her for a very long time.









I will teach my girl to bake a birthday cake, engagement cake, and a baby shower cake.


I will teach her how to be a friend and how to be a wife.


I will teach my girl how to be a mother, just right after she finishes teaching me.


I love you Indigo.









Ingredients (Strawberry cake)
Delightfully borrowed from Confections of a Foodie Bride
{Printable Recipe}


• 24 oz very ripe fresh strawberries, hulled (if frozen, thawed)
• 1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened (not melted)









Directions

If using frozen, thaw frozen strawberries in whatever form (sliced, whole, etc) and in whatever container/bag you have them in. Pour into a fine strainer placed over a bowl and let sit. Lightly toss the strawberries occasionally to remove any pockets of excess liquid. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard.









Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree. (You can use fresh berries too, this is what I used. Just hull, slice and toss with a teaspoon or two of sugar and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, until nice and juicy. Place strawberries in a food processor and puree.


Reserve 3/4 cup puree for the cake. Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting (which is what I did).









Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8 inch pans: coat inside with butter and flour.


In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs (you can also do this with a hand mixer or by hand).









Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.


Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).








Ingredients (Strawberry Frosting)
Delightfully borrowed from Sprinkles
{Printable Recipe}


• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed (NEED 3TBS, I used the leftover puree from my cake.)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract









Directions


Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree.



I made this a 2 layer cake, place a nice thin layer of frosting and leftover puree in the center.  Next frost the outside.



Tip : Apply a super fine layer of frosting to your whole cake then place your cake in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove cake then apply a “2nd” layer of icing, the result is perfection.



HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to my Mother, you are such a peach and it was a pleasure being raised by you.



57 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aw, happy mothers day to you! I am making my mother and mother-in-law brownies this year :) this strawberry cake looks absolutely amazing though! I wish i could have some right now. It's perfect because strawberries are so in season right now.

PS - It's me Roxan! I have migrated to a new blog.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What a beautiful cake! Perfect for mother's day.

I love this series of clicks.

Cheers,

Rosa

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

Happy (early) Mother's Day to you!

Delicious Dishings said...

This is such a sweet post, and that cake looks amazing!

Unknown said...

Such a sweet post and your strawberry cake looks gorgeous. x

Unknown said...

Sweet write-up..Happy Mothers day to you! Cake looks amazing..

Unknown said...

Wow that cake looks delicious! And what a sweet post. You seem like you are a very caring and loving mother.

jenn from midlife modern said...

Man, I love that line, "I'll teach my girl how to be a mother, just as soon as she teaches me." I haven't heard anything that pretty in quite some time. Hope you have a lovely Mother's Day with that sweet girl...and that sweet cake!

Sue said...

What a fabulous cake! I love all the fresh strawberries used-YUM! Happy Mother's day to Indigo's mom!:)

Kim said...

Very sweet! I always feel like our children are raising us and teaching us way more than we are teaching them. You are on a role with strawberries lately and I'm loving it! This cake is gorgeous.

Happy Mother's Day!

Pam said...

What a sweet post and an even sweet cake! Happy Mother's Day!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Beautiful cake! And what a sweet message to Indigo...I seriously got teary reading it. You're such a good mom!!

pam said...

Such a lovely post! And have I told you lately how much I love your photos? Love them.

Ali said...

Happy Mother's Day, Jennifurla <3

Joyti said...

I hope that you have a lovely Mother's Day with Indigo. I love that she is teaching you as well as you teaching her :)
And the cake looks wonderful!

Three-Cookies said...

Those strawberries look massive. And looking at the color, I guess they are bursting with flavour.

Unknown said...

Such a sweet post. Happy Mother's Day to you. You are a wonderful mother!
The cake looks absolutely beautiful.

Katrina (Betty Ray) said...

Extremely awesome post. That's a great way to look at Mother's Day. :)

Can't wait to hear what you thought of P90X. You are coming up on my fav X workout - Core Synergistics. Enjoy!

Hope you have a terrific weekend and Mother's Day!

Lorraine said...

Beautiful post! You sound like a wonderful mom. Your cake looks amazing. I have to try this one. I am loving your antiquey looking photos too:)

Katie @ This Chick Cooks said...

What a sweet message. Enjoy those moments of reading to her. It seems like the blink of an eye and you turn around and they are already old enough to read to mommy! And, your cake looks so delicious, just perfect for Mother's Day!

Just Cake Girl said...

I loooove your pictures!!! The cake looka so yummy and amaziing! Have a happy mothers day!! :)

The Church Cook said...

Perfectly beautiful spring cake! And I never tire of hearing about your Indigo! :)

scrambledhenfruit said...

Beautiful cake and perfect for spring. Happy Mother's Day!

Faith said...

Happy Mother's Day to Indigo's Mom!!! That cake looks superb, like a bite of springtime!

Monica H said...

Call it pregnancy hormones, but when you said "I will teach my girl how to be a mother, just right after she finishes teaching me." it brought tears to my eyes. Okay so they may have dripped down my cheek some too :-)

Happy Mother's Day sweetheart.

Heather Baird said...

Beautiful cake, and equally beautiful words! Happy Mother's Day!

Unknown said...

Love the cake, but love what you had to say even more!

erica said...

ohh how yummy! I cannot wait for Strawberry Season so I can get some delicious and fresh berries.

xo

Unknown said...

What a beautiful cake and post, Jen!! And a wonderful tribute to your mom and to Indigo :) Happy Mother's day to you!!

Unknown said...

You have me crying. Happy Mother's day to you.

JaimeRabbits said...

Dammit, Furla, you made me cry -- and it's not even 9 a.m.!

Happy (early) Mother's Day to you! And thanks for the recipe; I'll be making this for my own mama on Sunday.

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

Lovely. You made me tear-up a little! I hope your mommy's day is as wonderful as this cake. :)

Mary Bergfeld said...

Your cake is very beautiful. If it tastes half as good as it looks you have a real winner on your hands. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

mr. pineapple man said...

mmm super delicious! love strawberry season :)

Cooking Gallery said...

You are such a sweet mother :)! And the cake looks beautiful, I love the generous amount of strawberries which you used for the cake.

teresa said...

i cry surprisingly often when food blogging, this is one of those times. what a sweet post!

shaz said...

Awww, that brought a little tear to my eye. Happy tears :) Have a wonderful mother's day with your beautiful family, Jennifurla. I'm going to have to re-try making a strawberry cake with this recipe, and this time I won't mess around with the egg ratios!

Unknown said...

Happy Mother's Day! Love this post!!

aipi said...

That is the sweetest post ~ you are a wonderful mother Jennifurla ! Happy Mothers day :)
The cake is outstanding!
US Masala

Carolyn said...

Beautiful cake, Jennifer! And lovely post. I suspect my children will dislike me immensely in their teenage years, but they are supposed to. For now I will revel in the fact that they love me so much!

Laurie {Simply Scratch} said...

Crying like a baby, thanks. However a slice of cake would cheer me up :) Lovely post and the cake looks beautiful!!

Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking said...

Awww, what a sweet sentiment to your daughter and a lovely cake to celebrate being queen for a day! Happy Mother's Day, Jen. Thanks for sharing this!

Monica H said...

Just wanted to share this recipe with you. As soon as I saw I thought of you :-)

http://leitesculinaria.com/41574/recipes-coconut-creme-brulee-tart.html

The Cooking Photographer said...

Jennifer your words brought tears to my eyes! What a lucky mom you are and what a lucky kid Indigo is! Happy Mother's Day.

Unknown said...

You wrote such touching words, brought a tear to my eye, couldn't even concentrate on your cake and it is lovely;-)

Unknown said...

Um yes I am crying. I'm sitting here by my computer and crying. How precious! How was I not a follower of your blog before? I'm so glad you stopped by my kitchen. Happy Mother's Day! ♥- Katrina

Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane said...

Such a sweet post, it really makes me think about my mum and how much I love her. She's always there to listen to my complaints about life and I know she would do anything for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Indigo is a very lucky girl :)

birdie to be said...

Youre strawberries look amazing. So does this cake!
Thanks for sharing.

www.birdietobe.blogspot.com

Joy said...

That's beautiful! I loved this:
I will fight with all my will power to provide her with Love, listening ears, an understanding heart, and deep belly laughs.
Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Unknown said...

Such a lovely cake, for every mum:)
Have a nice week end! Barbara

Anonymous said...

Adorable post and delicious cake! You are such a wonderful mother :)

Tessa said...

I love your comments about motherhood. I am not yet a mom, but you sound like a wonderful mother! Happy Mother's Day to you!

This cake is exactly what I've been looking for. I've made a couple with chunks of strawberries and been less than satisfied, so I've been looking for a recipe with pureed strawberries. Perfect. Thanks!

Martha said...

Really great cake and absolutely beautiful post. Happy Mother's Day!

Jenn (Cookies Cupcakes Cardio) said...

Beautiful cake! I love the look of your photos. I just baked this same recipe, but used a champagne buttercream instead. I like your idea of strawberry frosting with it.

Eliana said...

Gorgeous cake! And I adored this post too.

Avril said...

So beautiful. Thank you for putting into words such honest truth of what being a mommy is all about. Thank you for sharing such a gorgeous, gorgeous cake....my goodness is it gorgeous!!!

Abby said...

Jennifurla, thanks for the tip to make this cake! When you initially posted it I was so busy loving what you had to say to Indigo that I didn't pay as much attention as I should have to the recipe!