Cakes – Thoroughbreads Bakery

Glazed Lemon-Thyme Poppy Seed Cake

Hey! I am so glad you stopped by to check out my recent bakes. My name is Kelsey. I have dedicated 2021 to baking from my favorite baking publication – Bake from Scratch. Each quarter is dedicated to one main category of baking: cakes, breads, pies/pastries, cookies/miscellaneous. I am so excited to learn how to master (or try to master) each of these. Follow me along on my journey!

The original recipe is from the Bake from Scratch Vol. 1 book, however, I cut this recipe in half to make one loaf instead of two. The recipe below is the recipe after I halved it, if you would like the full recipe, click the button to go to the Bake from Scratch website.

I have to say, though this looks so pretty, it was slightly dry. I definitely baked it longer thanI should have. I checked it with a toothpick several times and they all had crumbs. They were dry crumbs which meant I should have taken it out the first time! I believe I over-baked it about 5-10 minutes which really changes the texture of the whole loaf.

The combination of thyme, lemon and poppyseed was surprisingly yummy! I would never have thought to add thyme to the famous lemon-poppy seed combo. Though I didn’t taste much thyme in the loaf, it did add a depth of flavor you sometimes miss.

Next time I make this loaf, I would definitely bake it a significantly shorter time and add more thyme. Overall, its definitely worth a try because of how fun, pretty and different it is! If you love the lemon and poppy seed flavor combo, you will love this!

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 eggs
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Prepare a loaf pan with baking spray and flour.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add poppyseeds and thyme until combined.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
In medium bowl, sift flour, salt and baking powder.
In separate bowl, mix buttermilk, lemon juice, zest and vanilla.
Add wet and dry ingredients into butter mixture, alternating between wet and dry (begin and end with dry).
Pour into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 30 minutes then cover with tin foil and bake 30-45 minutes more.
- Until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes then take our of loaf pan and let cool completely on a baking rack.
- Here’s a link to my favorite baking rack!

For the Glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine ingredients in small bowl, whisk until smooth.
Pour on cooled loaf.
Garnish with lemon slices and thyme sprigs.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Pam Baking Spray with Flour – my favorite baking spray!

Original Recipe

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Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake

My birthday was February 16 and I decided I was going to bake myself a birthday cake! What better than a red velvet cake? It could double as a Valentine’s cake and it has chocolate in it, plus cream cheese icing is SO good. I created a two-layer cake instead of a three-layer, the third layer I used as its own little red velvet cake to give to my family (we ate it warm out of the oven of course!)

What I would have done differently if I had made a three-layer cake is level off all three layers, spread the frosting between each layer and before I frosted the top and sides I would have inserted paper straws to help hold the cake together (since I am not the best cake stacker in the world). I did not follow either of the cooling instructions (definitely didn’t put it in the fridge), the icing was basically falling off the cake because it was still slightly warm and I forgot to garnish with cake crumbs because I absolutely could not wait to eat it. Oops! If I were going to present this to someone I would have followed the directions correctly but since it was just for me and my family, it was definitely worth it because there is nothing better than warm cake.

Ingredients

For the cake:

1½ cups unsalted butter, softened
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups whole buttermilk, room temperature

For the frosting:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (2-pound) package powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper, and spray pans again.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add sour cream, food coloring, and vanilla, beating to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Divide batter among prepared pans (smoothing tops if necessary).
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.
Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.
Garnish with cake crumbs, if desired.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

For the frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy, 4 to 5 minutes.
Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt, beating until smooth.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Original Recipe

Hummingbird Cake

This Hummingbird Cake recipe can be found in Bake from Scratch Vol.1 on page 23. It is originally a 3-layer cake, but I made a 2-layer cake with the same recipe. My thoughts on that are at the bottom of the page. The original recipe was a three layer cake. However, I made a two layer cake for several reasons. One, I only had two circle cake pans and I didn’t want to wait for it to cool down to reuse a pan. Two, I was not confident in my layering abilities. In hindsight, I would have made three layers and held it together with paper straws if needed. My two layer cake was very dense and that probably had to do with the excess cake batter in each pan. The cake was extremely moist the first two days but after that, it got kind of dry and even more dense. Good thing about it is that it is so delicious that it won’t last much longer than 2-3 days!

Ingredients

For the cake:

3⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup toasted pecans, chopped
2 ripe bananas, mashed
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple

For the filling:

¹_/3 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
½ cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
2 cups cream cheese frosting

For the frosting:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper, and spray pans again.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg; stir in pecans.
In a medium bowl, stir together banana, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
Add banana mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.
Fold in pineapple.
Divide batter among prepared pans.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Spread Pineapple-Pecan Filling between layers.
Spread Cream Cheese Frosting on top and lightly on sides of cake.
Cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.

For the frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add vanilla.
Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth.
Reserve 2 cups frosting for Pineapple-Pecan Filling.

For the filling:

Pat pineapple dry with paper towels.
In a medium bowl, gently stir together pineapple, pecans, and Cream Cheese Frosting until combined.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Original Recipe – Click Here

Pear-Almond Cake

After baking the Strawberry Buttermilk Cake, which was my first cast-iron skillet cake, I was dying to try another! This time I tried the Pear-Almond Cake recipe from the Bake from Scratch Vol.1 book and I loved it as well. The almond flavor was spot on, not too overwhelming. I often think the almond taste in classic wedding cakes is too much but this cake was the perfect mix. The absolute best part about this cake was the bite of pear you get, it kept the cake extremely moist underneath, we were all fitting for those pear bites!

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¹_/3 cup whole milk
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large red pear, cored and cut into 12 thin slices
½ cup sliced almonds
Garnish with powdered sugar

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray a 9-inch cast-iron skillet with baking spray with flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Beat in extracts.
Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Place pears cut side down in a pinwheel fashion over batter.
Bake until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with almonds, and bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Let cool in pan for 15 minutes.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve warm.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Pecan Pie Bundt Cake

This cake was SO good however I clearly had some issues, mainly with it sticking to my bundt pan. I did spray it with my favorite Pam with Flour but I should have followed the directions specifically when it said to coat it with 2 tablespoons of shortening. The extra fat in the shortening would definitely have helped it slide out of the pan instead of tear out some of the corners like it did. I also replaced dark corn syrup for light corn syrup, I didn’t see any huge repercussions from that, it might have changed the color a bit and the flavor would have been slightly different. No matter how much I messed up, this cake bounced right back and it was soft, moist and delicious. It might not be the prettiest thing but it was one of the tastiest! I love this spin on a Pecan Pie, I will certainly be trying this recipe again, and this time follow the directions haha!

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 tablespoons all-vegetable shortening
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup dark corn syrup
½ cup whole buttermilk

For the frosting:

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons half-and-half
Pinch of salt

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined after each addition; scrape sides of bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together cream, bourbon, and vanilla.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition and stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
Fold in chopped toasted pecans.
Spray a 10-cup bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
- A couple of my favorite bundt pans are linked below
Coat inside of pan with raw pecans, turning to coat and shaking out any excess.
Spoon batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter several times to evenly spread batter and release any air bubbles. (The pan will be quite full, but the batter will not overflow.)
Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Using a small offset spatula, gently loosen center and edges of cake from pan. Invert pan onto a wire rack; let cake stand in pan for 20 minutes.
Pick up wire rack with bundt pan on top, and lightly tap on counter to loosen cake; remove from pan, and place wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let cool completely.
Spoon Brown Sugar-Bourbon Sauce over ridges of cake as desired. Once sauce stops dripping, transfer cake to a serving plate. For fuller coverage, brush more still-hot sauce onto sides of cake using a small pastry brush. Serve immediately.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Nordic Ware ProForm Anniversary Bundt Pan with Handles

Nordic Ware 75th Anniversary Braided Bundt Pan

Original Recipe

Strawberry-Buttermilk Cake

National Strawberry Day was February 27 and to celebrate, I made this Strawberry-Buttermilk Cake on page 113 in the Bake from Scratch Vol.1 book. This is the first cast-iron skillet cake I have ever made and I will never go back, the crunchy edge the cast-iron gives is the best crust. The sugar topping created a slight crunch on top, combined with the strawberries, sweet cake and vanilla bean cream… This cake is a new favorite! Lemon is not my favorite flavor, so what I made instead of this Lemon Cream was a Vanilla Bean Cream. It is my favorite accompaniment to any dessert, I also used it for the Tres Leche Cake topping instead of meringue. Vanilla Bean Cream recipe is below, it is so simple, it only takes 5 minutes to whip up.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 large eggs
1²_/3cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup whole buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ of a 16-ounce container of fresh strawberries, halved
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Spray a 9-inch cast-iron skillet or cake pan with baking spray with flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Beat in vanilla.
Pour batter into prepared pan, using an off-set spatula to smooth top.
Top with strawberries, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Serve warm with Lemon Cream.
- I did not make the lemon cream, but I did whip up one of my favorite accompaniments – the vanilla bean cream!

Vanilla Bean Cream

1½ cups heavy whipping cream
2⁄3 cup (80 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon (0.75 gram) kosher salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat cream and confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and salt, beating to combine.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Original Recipe Click Here

Upside-Down Chocolate Apricot Cake

I cannot lie, I only baked this cake because I thought the picture was pretty. Have you ever done that? I had absolutely ZERO intentions on actually eating this cake but it wasn’t too bad! I am not a fan of apricots but I was pleasantly surprised by how good the chocolate cake was. Thankfully my father-in-law likes apricots so I got my real review from him. He thought the cake itself was very good, the apricots definitely brought a sour and tangy flavor which was not fully appreciated. I suppose if you love apricots this would be the cake for you! I had multiple people tell me “just make the chocolate cake without the apricots on top” haha! I might just have to try that next time.

I made a couple mistakes in this cake, the main one being that I did not let it cool down long enough because the apricots started sliding everywhere. The bright orange fruit on the dark chocolate cake is so pretty, it really pops and makes for a beautiful cake – except don’t take it out of the pan too soon haha! I think if I had let it cool down more, the apricots would have stuck in their spots and the brown sugar glaze would have hardened up a little to make it look more pleasing. The brown sugar glaze was really helpful in cutting the sourness of the apricots. Overall, I would definitely make it again for any apricot lover out there.

Ingredients

For the cake:

¾ cup unsalted butter, divided
¾ cup firmly packed
3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 (15-ounce) cans unpeeled, divided apricot halves in syrup, drained
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
^1_/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sour cream

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour.
In a small saucepan, bring ¼ cup butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium heat (do not stir).
Remove from heat, and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Pour into prepared pan.
Place apricots, cut side down, over sugar mixture.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat granulated sugar and remaining ½ cup butter at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Add remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla, beating until combined.
Pour batter over apricots in pan.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully invert cake onto a flat serving plate. Serve warm.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Original Recipe

German Chocolate Cake with Butterscotch Glaze

Of all the cakes I baked in this first quarter, this was the cake I got the most compliments on. My grandmother actually told me it was the best thing I have ever baked! Every cake I baked after this one I tried to do better than this one and kept asking “so was this one better than the german bundt cake?” I always got a solid “no, that one was better” haha! I do appreciate the honesty though! This cake was so perfect, it was sooo rich, VERY decadent. It really felt like I was eating an expensive fancy cake but I just made it in my own kitchen!

I was surprised to see coffee in this recipe, I was unsure how it would taste in the final product but I definitely think it was a necessary ingredient. Since the butterscotch drizzle was so sweet, the chocolate cake did not need to be. The coffee really helped cut the sweetness in the cake, while the butterscotch added the extra sweetness and richness while adding a new flavor which was great. One of my husbands favorite flavors is butterscotch so he was thrilled with this cake!

Ingredients

For the cake:

3 ounces German’s sweet chocolate, chopped
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup coffee
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups whole buttermilk

For the glaze:

1 cup butterscotch chips
^1_/3 cup half-and-half

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spray a 15-cup Bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
- My favorite is Pam Baking Spray with Flour.
- My go-to bundt cake pan is a NordicWare classic design with handles, they really help to get it out of the oven and to flip the cake right-side-up.
- Here is a bundt cake pan I have had my eye on for quite some time… it is gorgeous!
In a medium bowl, whisk together chocolate, cocoa, and coffee until chocolate is melted.
- The chocolate I used is from Kroger, the brand Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar.
- For the coffee, you could use any brewed coffee however, I do not own a coffee pot. I do have an espresso machine so what I did was use coffee pods in my espresso machine. It worked just as well!
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer at high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
With mixer on low speed, add chocolate mixture; beat until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, about 47 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack, and let cool completely.

For the Glaze:

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup butterscotch chips and ^1_/3 cup half-and-half.
Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until mixture is smooth and butterscotch is melted.
- I did not get all of my butterscotch chips melted completely, but I would rather do that than burn my glaze!
- I also had a bit of my baking spray residue on the cake when I inverted it, so I added some powdered sugar before the glaze. Extra powdered sugar never hurt anyone, right?

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar

Original Recipe

Champagne Cake with Fluffy Strawberry Frosting

I had never made a champagne cake before this one – to be completely honest… I had never even heard of a champagne cake before! When I saw this recipe in the Bake from Scratch Vol.1 book I knew I HAD to try it. I asked my aunt what types of cake my cousin, Emma, would like for her birthday that was coming up and guess what the number one cake was… a champagne cake!! I laughed out loud because I went from not knowing these types of cakes existed to wanting to bake this exact cake to having the perfect occasion for it!

So I immediately started planning to bake this strawberry champagne cake for my cousin. I am not a huge champagne fan so the first thing I did was go to my local Liquor Barn and buy several small bottles of champagne to try. I know that wine and liquor tends to taste differently in cakes but what could it hurt, you know? I decided on a Natale Verga Prosecco, which was very delicious and I now have on my radar for NYE if need be.

This cake ended up being my absolute favorite cake in my 2021 quarter of baking cakes. I know why champagne cakes are a big deal now, they are delicious!! Emma loves all things fruit so I knew she would like the fresh strawberry frosting, it was so fluffy and did not have an overwhelming champagne taste, which was great. I liked that the cake was not heavy like the Hummingbird cake (which I also loved) or the Pound cake. When a cake feels light it means you can eat more of it, right? I think so! Though there seemed to be a lot of steps in to create this cake, it did not feel strenuous. Once I was finished I felt so proud at the quality and excited at how easy it seemed!

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup champagne or sparkling wine, room temperature
5 large egg whites, room temp.

For the frosting:

1½ cups fresh strawberries, chopped
2½ cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
¼ cup champagne or sparkling wine

To finish:

½ cup fresh strawberries

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour.
- My favorite is Pam Baking Spray with Flour – I have heard many people say they love Baker’s Joy but I am not a huge fan of that one. It doesn’t seem to last very long for me and is a very thick spray which I don’t like.
Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and spray pans again.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Beat in vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with champagne – begin and end with flour mixture.
Beat until just combined then transfer to a large bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form.
- If there are any remnants of grease or fat (butter), the egg whites will not form peaks. It is VERY important to wash and dry the bowl well before beating the egg whites.
Gently fold egg whites into batter, one-third at a time.
Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula.
- If you want to be very precise, use a food scale to weigh the two round cake pans after the batter is added to see if you need to even them out (just get a spoon and transfer a little over until they are fairly even).
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 22-28 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove and let cool completely on wire rack.

For the frosting:

In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse strawberries and ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream.
- I do not own a food processor, so what I used instead was a handheld immersion blender.
Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add remaining 2¼ cups of heavy whipping cream, strawberry purée, powdered sugar and champagne at high speed until stiff peaks form, do not over-beat.
Using a serrated knife, cut each cake later in half horizontally.
- Pro tip: buy a cheap cake leveler.
Spread frosting between layers, on top, and sides of cake.
Garnish with the extra half cup of fresh strawberries.
Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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