High Altitude Mini Strawberry Cake
This mini strawberry cake is soft, moist and fluffy, made with fresh strawberries in both the cake and the buttercream, and scaled down to a petite size that's just enough for four slices.
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 Paddle Attachment
- 4-inch Round Cake Pans (x2)
Ingredients
Strawberry Reduction
- 6 oz fresh (or frozen) strawberries
- 1-2 small drops red gel food coloring, optional
Cake
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 6 tbsp whole milk
- ¾ tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cooled strawberry reduction
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (do not substitute melted butter)
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp meringue powder, optional
- pinch coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cooled strawberry reduction
Instructions
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, and stir in the food coloring, if using. Over medium low heat, simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until reduced to 1/3-1/2 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 the strawberry reduction in both the cake and the buttercream.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the inside of two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Add the milk, lemon juice, strawberry reduction (2 tbsp), oil, egg, and vanilla, and whisk just until smooth.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Bake the cakes for about 18-22 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides to loosen them from the pan. Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.
- Separately, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, mixing just to combine.
- Add the vanilla and 2 tbsp strawberry reduction. Whip the buttercream on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to Stir, and mix for 1 minute.
Assembly
- If the cakes are domed, slice a small portion off the top so they can be stacked level.
- Set one of the cakes on a small plate, and spread some of the leftover strawberry reduction over the cake. Stack the second cake on top.
- Frost the cake all over with the strawberry buttercream.
Notes
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
If you only have 6 inch pans instead of 4 inch, you can use those, and your cake layers will be thinner.
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