Fresh strawberries and clouds of mascarpone whipped cream sandwiched between luscious orange olive oil cake. # 225: Strawberry Cream Cake

You must have your pinky raised to take a bite of this cake. I don’t make the rules!

It’s more traditional to go with a sponge (what’s up victoria sponge) or a pound cake (strawberry shortcake vibes), but I swerved and went for an olive oil cake instead. I had limited ingredients on hand and didn’t want to risk ending up with a dry sponge cake by using a recipe I hadn’t vetted in past bakes. Claire Saffitz and orange olive oil to the rescue! Her recipe is definitely more classic, using regular olive oil and adding in lemon zest. But hey, we’re living on the edge over here.

I love how the strawberries are all lined up, like the edge of the cake is a window and we get a sneak peak of the gloriousness inside without having to cut in.

As I mentioned above, I was a little short on a main ingredient (eggs, sigh) so I ended up making a 2/3 batch of the batter. It baked up beautifully in an 8” round springform pan!

It probably would’ve been just fine on the nonstick bottom of the pan, but I chickened out at the last second. The recipe said the line the pan with parchment, spray it with oil AND sugar. The sugar adds a fun crunch to the top and bottom of the cake so I’ll stop complaining.

Want to see some magic? Start with eggs, sugar and olive oil.

Wave your magic wand *ahem* whisk attachment.

And voila! Look how much thicker it is with just time and air added in! Not quite as thick as a cake batter with butter as the base, but pretty close.

Happy bubbles, ready to help this baby rise to new heights.

Filling time! Always remember to whip your mascarpone first before adding the cream to loosen it a bit. It also helps to have them both at the same temperature.

My proportions are:

• 300 ml heavy whipping cream
• 58 g powdered sugar
• 29 g dark cocoa powder (if making non-chocolate, replace this with more powdered sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 226 g mascarpone cheese

I almost went the chocolate route – wouldn’t that be so yummy with the strawberries and orange cake? Next time.

Hello lovely crispy crust.

The key to assembly: use your springform pan! It’s got removable walls built right in and then you don’t have to move the bottom half of the cake.

Cut some of your hulled strawberries in half and put them in timeout along the edges of the cake.

Shave the tops off the really tall ones so your cake lid will lie flat. Shamelessly eat the strawberry tops.

Fill in all the nooks and crannies with cream.

This cake’s got a secret…

BOOM. Note to the wise: this awesome reveal will only work if you chill the cake first. I know it’s hard but it’s worth it!

Happy munching!

Cake recipe mostly from: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/olive-oil-cake