For all the adults like me who picked yellow cake over chocolate as kids because you grew up watching The World of Strawberry Shortcake.
Don't want to hear me ramble on and on... get just the recipe here!
I had to bring some sort of dessert for my best buddy’s early bday celebration at our tennis club. Another lady was bringing brownies… so, to not be outdone, I figured I would go to Lazy Acres (our fancy grocery store) and spend way more money making expensive cupcakes from scratch than just buying some from Nothing Bundt Cakes. I am very good at overcomplicating small tasks.
So, sixty bucks later, I was ready to spend the majority of my day in the kitchen baking. And I don’t bake… so Lora must know I love her.
I was going to do the cake completely from scratch, but in all honesty, I knew I was going to be tight on time. I didn't see the point in buying Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour (plus baking soda and powder, which I will never use again because I don't bake) vs. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix. I love to do everything from scratch, but clearly this seemed like a pretty obvious choice. I was still gonna fuck around with what I put in the cake batter anyway.
Recipe Supplies:
• Bob's Red Mill Cake Mix Gluten-Free Vanilla (one package)
• Vanilla Extract (a couple tablespoons)
• Kerrygold Butter (8 ounces. Yes, with the salt)
• Salt (to taste)
• Granulated Sugar (to taste)
• Lots of strawberries (1 lb or so)
• Lots of basil (1 ounce or so)
• Buttermilk (1/2 cup)
• Eggs (3)
Whipped cream frosting:
• Heavy whipping cream (1 cup)
• Powder Sugar (2 tbsp)
• Vanilla Extract (a couple tablespoons)
Instructions:
Vanilla Cupcakes or Cake:
Follow the instructions on whatever premade mix you choose. In addition, add 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla to it and replace half of the water it calls for with buttermilk. Finish the batter off with a pinch of salt.
I got about 18-ish cupcakes out of it, and they took about 22 minutes to cook in my oven at 325 degrees. Or you can make two small cakes.
While the cupcakes/cake were baking, I made my sweet basil strawberry salsa. Cut all the strawberries into small cubes and dice lots of basil. I just kept mixing and tasting until I got a nice balance of basil with the strawberries. I definitely wanted to taste the basil. Squeeze in a little bit of lemon, a couple of big dashes of sugar, and the tiniest bit of salt to taste.
Whipped Cream Frosting:
I wanted the cream to be a little sweeter because it was kind of like a frosting.
I used 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with two teaspoons of powdered sugar and 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla. Mix in the stand mixer for a few minutes until it thickens up.
Cupcake Assembly:
If making cupcakes, use small glass jars or containers and cut the cupcakes in half horizontally for the top and bottom. If making cakes, you can use the two cakes for the top and bottom.
Layer your cake or cupcakes just like lasagna.
Cake for the base. Then salsa, whipped cream, and salsa again. Cake for the top. Cover the top in whipped cream and garnish with more strawberries and basil.
I’ve made this many times as cupcakes and as a cake. Either way, it’s always a big hit!
