Summer Cake with Strawberries and Cherries

This Summer Cake with Strawberries and Cherries is not only gorgeous but it’s fresh and delicious, perfect for a summer day!

Well I’ve had these strawberries and cherries in the fridge now for a few days and I was saving them for this weekend. I wanted to make a strawberry and cherry cake, well because my husband has been asking for one. And I aim to please. Ok so I love to bake. Anyway, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this cake is a pretty traditional Romanian cake, it’s similar to a Strawberry Romanoff Cake. This type of cake is very popular in Romania and there are many versions of it.

The addition of cherries was my idea, I wanted to experiment a bit. What I love about this cake is how light the batter is. As for the cream I guess you could use any vanilla cream you’d want, but I made my own, and now thinking about it, I wish I would have used some coconut flakes in it, but I’ll leave that for next time. In a couple of weeks I have to make a cake again, my gorgeous little nephew, Nicholas, is turning 1 year old and I volunteered to make the cake. Though I might decide to make something with whipped cream and chocolate.

I think this cake just looks so gorgeous, almost didn’t want to cut into it, almost.

But I did.

And I ate a slice. Or two!

It was so good. It went really well with the Sangria I made. 🙂

I first started to make the cake batter. This cake requires 7 whole eggs which you have to separate. In the mixer of your bowl, add all the egg whites and beat on high until stiff. Once the egg whites are stiff, gradually add the sugar to it and continue beating until the sugar is well incorporated. Add the lemon juice and the lemon zest.

Using a spatula mix in the lemon zest and juice. To your egg yolks add the oil.

Using a whisk, whisk the egg yolks and the oil. As you whisk, you’ll notice the mixture thickens, turns into a mayonnaise. As a matter of fact that’s how you make mayonnaise. Add the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites.

Using the spatula fold in the egg yolks. Now you’ll need a cup of flour, don’t be tempted to add any more. This batter is very light. Adding one tablespoon at a time, fold in the flour using the spatula, until you’re done with the flour.

Pour the batter into a buttered and floured 9×13 baking pan.

Place the cake pan in a heated oven at 375 F degrees and bake the cake for 20 minutes. Do not open the door, at least not for the first 15 minutes. While I was waiting for the cake to bake, we were taking pictures of Mia again, and my husband got a great shot of her with her tongue out, and I can’t help myself from posting it here.

Isn’t she the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?? Beagles are the best!

Back to the cake. So after 20 minutes, take out the cake and let it cool completely.

This cake is very lemony because of all the lemon zest, it’s just so light and delicious. While the cake is cooling, you can make the cream. First of all in a saucepan, make a syrup from the sugar, water and lemon juice. Let it cool completely. This cream calls for vanilla pudding. I made my own, but you can use the store bought one, just make sure it’s cold. In a mixer mix the butter and vanilla extract until it’s light and fluffy. When the sugar syrup and vanilla pudding are cold, mix in with the butter on high for about 5 minutes until it makes a nice smooth cream. Now you don’t have to use the butter and sugar syrup, as a matter of fact I think next time I’ll just make this with pudding and make it lighter. Cut up the strawberries in slices and the cherries in half.

When the cake has cooled remove it from the pan carefully, it should just come out easily. Cut it in half, and then each half piece cut in half across, so that we make a 4 layer cake. Put all the pieces on top of each other, and cut off the ends as to make it nice and straight. To assemble the cake, place the bottom cake layer on a plate, spread some of the cream then layer with strawberries and cherries. Repeat with remaining layers. I did not put any cream on the outside of the cake, but you’re free to do so. I just sprinkled mine with some powdered sugar and made a pretty flower on top.

Gorgeous, isn’t it? See, you don’t need any special occasion to eat cake. Enjoy life and eat cake!

If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Leave a comment below and rate this recipe or take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!

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Summer Cake with Strawberries and Cherries

5 from 1 vote

Prep: 35 mins

Cook: 25 mins

Total: 1 hr

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Serves: 8

Print Pin Rate

This Summer Cake with Strawberries and Cherries is not only gorgeous but it's fresh and delicious, perfect for a summer day!

Ingredients

Cake batter

• 7 eggs
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest from 1 lemon
• 7 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Vanilla Cream

• 6 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp butter unsalted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vanilla pudding prepared
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries sliced
• 1 1/2 cup cherries pitted, chopped
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
• Separate the eggs. Add the egg white to the bowl of a mixer. Beat on high until stiff. Once the egg whites are stiff, gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the sugar is well incorporated. Add the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Using a spatula mix in the lemon zest and juice.
• To your egg yolks add the oil. Using a whisk, whisk the egg yolks and the oil. As you whisk, you'll notice the mixture thickens, turns into a mayonnaise. Add the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites. Using the spatula fold in the egg yolks.
• Now you'll need a cup of flour, don't be tempted to add any more. This batter is very light. Adding one tablespoon at a time, fold in the flour using the spatula, until you're done with the flour.
• Pour the batter into a buttered and floured 9x13 baking pan.
• Place the cake pan in the oven and bake the cake for 20 minutes. Do not open the door, at least not for the first 15 minutes.
• Take out the cake and let it cool completely.
• In a saucepan, make a syrup from the sugar, water and lemon juice. Let it cool completely. In a mixer mix the butter and vanilla extract until it's light and fluffy. When the sugar syrup and vanilla pudding are cold, mix in with the butter on high for about 5 minutes until it makes a nice smooth cream.
• Cut up the strawberries in slices and the cherries in half.
• When the cake has cooled remove it from the pan carefully, it should just come out easily. Cut it in half, and then each half piece cut in half across, so that we make a 4 layer cake. Put all the pieces on top of each other, and cut off the ends as to make it nice and straight. To assemble the cake, place the bottom cake layer on a plate, spread some of the cream then layer with strawberries and cherries.
• Sprinkle with powder sugar and serve.

Recipe Notes

Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 409kcal (20%)Carbohydrates: 41g (14%)Protein: 7g (14%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 16g (100%)Cholesterol: 166mg (55%)Sodium: 65mg (3%)Potassium: 168mg (5%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 27g (30%)Vitamin A: 490IU (10%)Vitamin C: 20.1mg (24%)Calcium: 34mg (3%)Iron: 1.6mg (9%)

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:Romanian

Keyword:summer cake

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