Pretty Strawberry Cake

This cake is so simple yet can be turn into various flavor, and would hold under fondant too!

1 2/3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

a pinch or two of salt

1 tsp bSoda

1 cup water

1 tsp vinegar

a couple drops of strawberry oil (I use Lorann brand)

a couple drops of red food coloring

6 T oil

1/2 cup yogurt/sour cream/buttermilk (whichever you have in the fridge!). If you can find strawberry flavor yogurt, even better!

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well and pour wet ingredients, mix to combine

Pour into greased and lined with parchment paper of an 7 inch round pan

Bake for 30 mins on preheated 350 F or until knife inserted comes out clean

Cool on rack before decorating

Note: if you want tall cake, repeat recipe and bake again.

PS: sorry for the other cakes (blue and regular), they were for other projects lol

5 egg whites

1 1/4 c sugar

1 lbs unsalted butter, room temperature

a tsp vanilla essence

On double boiler, dissolve sugar in egg whites over medium heat (simmer), do not let water boil. Mixture should not be gritty and candy temperature reads 140-160 F

Pour mixture into stand-up mixer and beat on low until cool to room temperature

Turn up speed to high and beat until firm peak

Beat in butter a little at a time, keep beating until creamy

Beat in essence

You can use any color/flavor of chocolate buttons! If you want simple white and/or chocolate only, you can use chocolate chips too. Easy peasy

I use what people refer as chocolate fence mold (first picture), which you can get at either baking store or online. Melt your preferred color of chocolate button/chips, pour into piping bag/ziplock and fill the cavities. You can also do this just with your spoon, carefully, so you won't make much of a mess. Chill in the fridge for 10 mins or until firm.

For the flowers, I cut an empty tissue roll (or you can use paper roll for wrapping or kitchen paper roll as well) as shown. Melt my chocolate, pour into ziplock and snip the corner, and pipe a dollop of melted chocolate each time. With the back of a spoon, I press it onto melted chocolate and pull the chocolate down, on a parchment paper that is cut close to or exact size to the tissue roll . Lift the parchment paper and place carefully inside the tissue roll. Chill in the fridge for 10 mins or until these petals are firm.

Line a parchment paper on a plate/cutting board, and pipe a dollop of chocolate. Start stacking petals and form into a flower. Each time you stack the petal, dab a little melted chocolate. Once your flower is formed, pipe a little melted chocolate in center and press a chocolate button. Chill for 10 mins/until firm in the fridge.

Same as for making "lazy person" leaves. Melt chocolate and pipe on parchment. Pull down melted chocolate with the back of a spoon and chill.

Easy peasy, right? :)

Now To Assembly the Cake!

Slice cake into four thin layers.

Pipe a dam around a layer with buttercream and fill the center with strawberry jam, stack cake. Repeat until the third layer, then stack the fourth layer. Cover the whole cake with buttercream.

Start decorating the cake! Press chocolate fence cake, surrounding the sides of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with chocolate leaves and flowers and voila. Enjoy :)