A high altitude strawberry Bavarian cream cake, made with four layers of from scratch, soft strawberry cake made with fresh strawberries. The cake is filled with Bavarian cream or custard, then frosted with strawberry whipped cream.
You might also love these recipes for chiffon cake with blueberry whipped cream, Bavarian cream pie with toasted coconut, and strawberry chiffon sheet cake.
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What’s in this Cake?
- Strawberry Cake. The cake recipe is a fan favorite – my homemade strawberry cake made with real, fresh strawberries. It’s soft, moist, and full of strawberry flavor.
- Bavarian Cream. Bavarian cream is essentially custard or pastry cream that’s lightened with a bit of whipped cream. It makes a wonderful filling for cakes, doughnuts and pies. You can read about it in more detail in my recipe for Bavarian cream pie.
- Strawberry Whipped Cream. The strawberry whipped cream is a fluffy, not-too-sweet “frosting” that’s perfect for this light and creamy cake. Whipped cream is stabilized with a little cream cheese, and flavored with strawberry reduction. I’ve also made a blueberry version of this for my chiffon cake.
I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Instructions
Bavarian Cream
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk, egg yolks and vanilla.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until the custard starts to bubble and thicken; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer to strain out any bits of cooked egg, into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
- When you’re ready to assemble the cake, use an electric mixer to whip the cream and powdered sugar on medium speed for several minutes, until thick fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chilled custard, folding it in with a spatula to loosen up the custard until smooth. Add the rest of the whipped cream, folding it in until you have a fluffy, creamy filling. Immediately use for filling the cake layers.
Strawberry Reduction
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then use a small food processor to puree the strawberries.
- Scrape the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until reduced to 3/4 cup. This may take up to 30 minutes.
- Once reduced, transfer the strawberry reduction to a container, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed. You can make the reduction up to 2 days in advance. You’ll be using 1/2 cup of the strawberry reduction in the cake and 1/4 cup in the whipped cream.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon juice, 1/2 cup strawberry reduction, eggs, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Whisk in the food coloring, if using.I added 2 small drops super red gel food coloring; without the food coloring, the cakes will be a paler pinkish tan color.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk for about 10-15 seconds, until combined.
- Divide the batter between the pans, then bang the pans on the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely.
- When you’re ready to assemble your cake, use a sharp non-serrated knife to carefully split each layer, so you have four thin layers of cake. Brush the cake layers with the 1/4 cup milk (1 tbsp per cake layer) before assembling the cake.
Whipped Cream
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed for about one minute, until smooth. Add the 1/4 cup strawberry reduction and the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Add the cream and food coloring, and whip on medium high speed until thick and fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
Assembly
- Set one of the cake layers on a cake plate. Spread with 1/3 of the Bavarian cream. Repeat with another layer of cake and Bavarian cream, until you’ve filled all four cake layers.
- Frost the cake all over with the whipped cream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store this cake?
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
What flowers are on the cake?
I decorated my cake with fresh lilacs from my back yard.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Strawberry Bavarian Cream Cake
From-scratch strawberry cake made with fresh strawberries, filled with Bavarian cream, and frosted with strawberry whipped cream.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
- 9 Inch Round Cake Pans (x2)
Ingredients
Bavarian Cream
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- â…› tsp coarse Kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 large egg yolks (save the extra whites for the cake)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ tbsp powdered sugar
Strawberry Reduction
- 12 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
Cake
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup strawberry reduction, completely cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites only
- ½ cup vegetable oil (do not substitute with melted butter)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 small drops pink or red gel food coloring, optional
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup whole milk, for brushing over the baked cake layers
Whipped Cream
- 4 oz block cream cheese, cold
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup strawberry reduction, completely cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 1-2 drops red gel food coloring, optional
Instructions
Bavarian Cream
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk, egg yolks and vanilla.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until the custard starts to bubble and thicken; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer to strain out any bits of cooked egg, into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
- When you're ready to assemble the cake, use an electric mixer to whip the cream and powdered sugar on medium speed for several minutes, until thick fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chilled custard, folding it in with a spatula to loosen up the custard until smooth. Add the rest of the whipped cream, folding it in until you have a fluffy, creamy filling. Immediately use for filling the cake layers.
Strawberry Reduction
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then use a small food processor to puree the strawberries.
- Scrape the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until reduced to 3/4 cup. This may take up to 30 minutes.
- Once reduced, transfer the strawberry reduction to a container, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed. You can make the reduction up to 2 days in advance. You'll be using 1/2 cup of the strawberry reduction in the cake and 1/4 cup in the whipped cream.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon juice, 1/2 cup strawberry reduction, eggs, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Whisk in the food coloring, if using.I added 2 small drops super red gel food coloring; without the food coloring, the cakes will be a paler pinkish tan color.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk for about 10-15 seconds, until combined.
- Divide the batter between the pans, then bang the pans on the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely.
- When you're ready to assemble your cake, use a sharp non-serrated knife to carefully split each layer, so you have four thin layers of cake. Brush the cake layers with the 1/4 cup milk (1 tbsp per cake layer) before assembling the cake.
Whipped Cream
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed for about one minute, until smooth. Add the 1/4 cup strawberry reduction and the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Add the cream and food coloring, and whip on medium high speed until thick and fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
Assembly
- Set one of the cake layers on a cake plate. Spread with 1/3 of the Bavarian cream. Repeat with another layer of cake and Bavarian cream, until you've filled all four cake layers.
- Frost the cake all over with the whipped cream.
Notes
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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