Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
This buttermilk strawberry cake is topped with light and tangy vanilla bean creme fraiche whipped cream. It’s the ultimate summer dessert!
Servings
1cake
Servings
1cake
Ingredients
Cake
Creme Fraiche Whipped Cream
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut the tops off the strawberries. Slice about 3/4 of them in half. Cut the other 1/4 of the strawberries in quarters and sprinkle 1/3 cup (less 2 tablespoons, reserving the 2 tablespoons for sprinkling over the cake before baking) over the strawberries and toss to coat. The half cut strawberries will be baked into the top of the cake and the quartered strawberries are for serving fresh with the cake.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, 1 1/4 cup sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean with the back of a knife and add half of the vanilla bean paste to the butter. Reserve the other half you scraped for the whipped cream. While the mixer is running, add one egg at a time until incorporated.
  4. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Lower the mixer to low speed and add about a 1/3 of the flour mixture and then about a 1/3 of the buttermilk, alternating the flour and buttermilk until all ingredients are incorporated.
  5. Butter and flour two 6 inch cake pans or one 9 inch cake pan. Divide the batter evenly if using two cake pans or all into one 9 inch pan.
  6. Place the half-cut strawberries cut side up over the top of the cakes. Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of sugar over the tops of the cake.
  7. Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. Test the toothpick near the side of a strawberry because the batter under the strawberries can sometimes be raw while the rest of the batter is done.
  8. To make the whipped cream, pour the whipping cream, reserved vanilla bean paste and sugar into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk. Whisk until soft peaks form. Add the creme fraiche and whisk for a few more seconds just until the creme fraiche is incorporated.
  9. Serve slices of the cake with a large dollop of creme fraiche whipped cream and top with a large scoop of the quarter sliced macerated strawberries.