Spring and summer desserts should be simple. In the colder months, we love an hours-long baking marathon trying our hand at macarons, meringues, and any project we can dream up. But when the weather is warm and the sun is shining, no one wants to get caught up in the kitchen. (Also: our ovens are off.) That’s why this strawberry cake recipe couldn’t be more perfect. Well, there are a million reasons this strawberry cake recipe is perfect.
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Cake Recipe
Number one? This delicious dessert comes straight from the kitchen of the renowned chef and co-owner behind Scratch Restaurants, Margarita Kallas-Lee. Our team recently visited Margarita and her husband Phillip at their Austin home for what can only be described as the best dinner we’ve had in recent months. We were obsessed with its summery simplicity, sinking our forks and knives into a perfectly seasoned steak, scooping up seconds of a stunning tomato salad, and expanding our appetites for a best-ever strawberry cake.
Other reasons it’s so incredible. Whereas other desserts have you prepping for hours and worrying about the final result (and whether or not it’ll actually come out of your cake pan—terrifying), this strawberry cake recipe involves layering a few easy components together in a Pyrex pan. And though ease isn’t often paired with a gorgeous presentation, this recipe checks both boxes. When Margarita brought it to the table, we were floored. Then she served it up, and we were speechless.
Creamy, fruity, and with just enough tang from the mascarpone, meet the warm-weather dessert of your dreams.
Tips for Making Strawberry Cake With Mascarpone Cream
You’ll be making three separate components: the angel food cake, macerated strawberries, and mascarpone cream.
Get good mascarpone cream. This is where the cake’s flavor complexity is built. You want a mascarpone that has enough flavor on its own to compete with the cake’s sweeter ingredients.
Don’t skip the orange zest. Citrus and strawberries? A flavor match made in heaven. You’ll incorporate a teaspoon of orange zest into the mascarpone cream which goes a long way. Zest your orange straight over the bowl—that way, you’ll get even more of the fruit’s natural oils.
Carefully fold your angel cake ingredients together. You’re working with a lot of egg whites and not a lot of cake flour. Because of that, you’re relying on the former for this cake’s rise. Though you’ll want to incorporate the sugar and flour mixtures together completely, be mindful not to lose too much of the air that you beat into your egg whites.
Strawberry Cake With Mascarpone Creme
- Yield: 4–8 servings 1x
Description
Simple, but delicious, this strawberry cake combines creamy, comforting flavors with a crowd-pleasing presentation.
Ingredients
For the angel food cake:
- 350 grams sugar
- 133 grams sifted cake flour
- 12 egg whites
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
For the macerated strawberries:
- 1 1/2 pounds strawberries
- 65 grams sugar
- 1 gram salt
- 1 gram vanilla
For the mascarpone creme:
- 1,000 grams mascarpone (use really good mascarpone!)
- 200 grams sugar
- 1 gram vanilla
- 2 grams salt
- 800 grams cream
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
For the angel food cake:
- Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
- Add 1 cup of the sugar and whip until soft peaks form.
- In 3 additions, add in the sifted flour/sugar mixture with a spatula. (Sift very slowly and fold in several additions.)
- Use a 9×13 Pyrex pan lined with parchment.
- Bake at 325 F for 30-40 minutes.
- Cool the cake on a cooling rack. When completely cool, slice 2-inch slices of the cake horizontally.
For the macerated strawberries:
- Dice 1 pound of strawberries into a bowl. Reserve the final 1/2 pound of strawberries for assembly. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla. Use your hand to massage the sugar, salt, and vanilla into the strawberries which will start to release the strawberry liquid. Let it sit for 20 minutes.
For the mascarpone creme:
- Reserve 200 grams of your cream and put it into a small pot with salt, vanilla, and orange zest. Heat it to scalding and then let cool until it comes to room temperature.
- Take the rest of the cream and whip it until stiff peaks.
- In a separate bowl combine mascarpone and sugar and mix with a spatula until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the room temperature cream (strained) into the mascarpone and sugar mixture, then combine the whipped cream with a whisk. Be careful not to over-whip!
To assemble:
- Reserve half a pound of strawberries and slice them very thin on a mandolin. Dip the sliced strawberries in the maceration liquid and line the Pyrex pan with the sliced strawberries, as well as the top of the cake.
- Line the Pyrex pan with the sliced strawberries, then put angel food cake on the bottom layer, then the mascarpone creme, then the diced macerated strawberries, then another layer of cake and mascarpone creme to the top. Garnish with sliced strawberries for presentation.
