Better Than The Box Strawberry Cake
Not that we need a reason to make and enjoy a cake, but I always love having a dessert that feels a bit special near a holiday. If I’m honest it doesn’t always get made on the holiday itself. Those days are full and busy enough on their own! It’s usually the day after or even later that week that I feel the need to prolong the celebration a bit with a special treat. After the Easter candy has been eaten up, the 4th of July firecrackers are all cracked, the birthday balloons have all deflated...that’s when we need cake the most. This one holds the essence of a warm weather strawberry, a savior of slightly sad berries in the back of the fridge. Kept moist by the use of olive oil, kept smooth by the blending of the strawberries (do your kid’s despise fruit chunks in their baked goods like mine?), and made light and airy buy the whipping of sugar and eggs. Cutting into a (naturally) pink slice topped with a cloud of frosting feels like a holiday in itself, especially if you top it with some sprinkles because why not?
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup olive oil
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 pint of strawberries, tops removed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
sprinkles never hurt (yes, we buy them in bulk :)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grab a 9x13 baking dish and line it with parchment paper or rub all over with olive oil or butter. Set it aside.
If you have a sifter, sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together into a medium bowl. Add the salt and give it a little stir. If you don’t have a sifter, just use a whisk or fork to fluff the dry ingredients a bit to break up any clumps.
In a blender, add the strawberries with tops removed and pour the olive oil over top. Blend until justcombined and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until frothy. Pour the strawberry olive oil mixture and the vanilla extract in and fold to combine. Now, add the dry ingredients on top and fold until just combined again. Pour into the lined (or well oiled) baking dish and pop in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes. If you put a toothpick in the middle of the cake it should come out clean. Let it cool completely before frosting!
