All the flavor of pound cake into a small layered strawberry vanilla cake. Frosted with honey cream cheese and strawberry glaze, this is the perfect spring cake!
Cake. It’s what’s for breakfast.
According to Kate Spade, it’s totally acceptable to “eat cake for breakfast”. I keep seeing those tote bags/phone covers/laptop sleeves at neighboring tables at my favorite coffee spots.
The last cake recipe I shared came about because I spent hours trying to figure out how to fix my blog’s email troubles. This strawberry vanilla cake was born out of frustration with Google’s new mobile friendly rules.
Table of Contents
Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This brings us to cake. I’m tried of making large 8 or 9-inch layer cakes. They end up teasing me in the fridge until I end up eating all of it.
From now on, I’m going to try to use my 5-inch cake pan more often. It’s a small cake that’s big enough to share, yet doesn’t take much up space in the fridge.
I used a 5-inch cake pan (3 inches high), but this recipe also works for one 9-inch cake pan (2-inch high).
3-inch vs 2-inch pan
When you use the little 5-inch cake pan, the cake will puff up a little over the edge creating somewhat of a muffin top (better known as your snack while you build the cake).
Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature, slice off the little muffin top and level off the cake.
Cake Lessons For Life:
One thing that cake making has taught me is patience. Ask friends and family; I’m not the patient type. When I want it, I want it now.
But you can’t have that kind of attitude with cake. Cake will punish you.
Have you tried to slice a warm cake? Sometimes the knife sticks to the cake, or the cake starts to tear apart, or you burn yourself because the inside of the cake is much hotter than the outside.
Anyway, regardless of what happens, when you slice into a warm cake, you’ll only end up regret. TRUST.
A cooled cake is sturdier, stronger, and much easier to cut. I like to use a serrated knife because it does a much cleaner job.
Are cupcakes still popular?
Remember the cupcake craze? I was only into it because I liked to spoon off the frosting and just eat cake. I love cakes that don’t require too much frosting.
This cake uses the tiniest amount of honey cream cream frosting. There’s just enough frosting to stick the layers together and just a touch on the outside to seal in the crumbs.
But if you LOVE frosting, don’t worry, the recipe makes plenty. You can slather on as much or little as you like.
P.S. I finally got the memo that “naked” cakes are cool. Expect a lot of more them.
Strawberry Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake:
- 1 ½ cup cake flour
- ½ Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, , room temp
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, , room temp
- ½ cup unsalted butter, , room temp
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Strawberry Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 strawberries, , hulled and sliced
- 3 raspberries*
- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- fresh strawberries, , as needed to top cake
Instructions
Vanilla Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and lightly flour a 5-inch cake pan (at least 3 inches tall). Line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and mix until combined. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed while adding half of the liquid ingredients. Add another ⅓ of dry, follow with remaining liquid ingredients and end with dry ingredients. Mix until batter is evenly combined.
- Spoon batter into prepared cake pan. Level off the top. Bake for 60 minutes, rotating pan midway through baking. If top of cake is browning too much, cover with foil tent. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cake batter will rise slightly over the 3-inch cake pan. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before unmolding. Allow to cool to room temperature on wire rack.
- Once cake is cool, use a serrated knife to slice off excess muffin top. Divide cake into three even layers.
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, honey and sea salt. Mix until smooth.
Strawberry Glaze:
- Puree strawberries and raspberries with lemon juice. Strain and measure out 2 Tbsp of juice. Combine powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp strawberry juice. Stir until smooth. If glaze is too thick, continue to add strawberry juice, 1 tsp at a time until desired thickness is achieved.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Isn’t this cake just pure perfection?! I am so wishing for a slice.. strawberries and vanilla can never do any wrong.
Thank you so much Thalia! I agree, strawberries and vanilla are a perfect match :)
Cake is totally acceptable for breakfast! In fact, my mom used to buy my sis and I cakes to eat for breakfast. I guess since we rarely have cakes, it is ok to serve that for breakfast. This cake is stunning! So want to try the honey cream cheese frosting!
Wow, that must have been such a treat! :) Perhaps I should make cake breakfast a birthday tradition…
That would be lovely, Maryanne! And as a matter of fact, I was just telling Sarah that I reeeeallly want an LA blogger meetup or “alliance” of some sort, lol. Well there probably is one somewhere, I just don’t know how to join in! :P Also, what are some of your favorite cafes in LA?! Mine is Urth hands down.
I’m part of the LA Food Blogger “meetup” group…but maybe we should start one! :) I’m emailing you right after this!
What a dream!! Love everything about this cake from the minimal frosting (cake lover not frosting lover forever) to that gorgeous strawberry glaze. Not to mention the crumb on that vanilla cake. Swoon.
Thanks so much, Alana! :)
I’m just loving minimally frosted cakes these days. They’re so gorgeous!
Me too! It’s perfect for spring/summer time :)
OMG girlfriend this is ah-maz-ing!!!!!!
Aw, thanks so much Jocelyn. Just looked at your banana pudding cheesecake blondies and I’m suddenly craving dessert! :)
Oyyyy yummy!!!! This cake base reminds me of (one of) my favorite cake–Korean style cake!!!! I love making the stuff because it gets so expensive at those cute, albeit painstakingly expensive Korean places. Know which ones I’m talking about? ;) And this is beautiful too, by the way. I’ve been to your site before but haven’t in a loooooong time. So glad that Sarah from SnixyKitchen invited me over here because we’re both Angelenas, yay! <3
Oh and I'm notorious for sticking my finger into every cake that dares to be around me. I'm patient in other ways but cake? Give it to me in any shape or form! Haha.
YES! I think I know what the cakes you’re talking about :) Ha, I’m the same way with cakes. Yay, so glad Sarah invited you over. (She’s such a sweetheart!) Since we’re both in LA, let’s get cake together sometime!
This cake looks gorgeous and insanely delicious! I want ittttttt
Thanks so much Tina! Hope you are enjoying your birthday weekend!
Omg!! This is like my favorite type of cake. I wished we were neighbors so we can make/eat cake everyday!
Can we PLEASE be neighbors? At the very least, move back to Southern California ;)
Oh my gosh this is too cute!! I love the styling!!
Thanks Millie! :)