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Pink and white cake with a quarter missing
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5 from 4 votes

Strawberry Vanilla Cake (Pink and White Valentine's Day Cake)

This strawberry vanilla cake is the perfect treat for special occasions. I usually make this romantic cake for my husband on Valentine's Day or anniversary. Not only is this cake a showstopper, but the combination of white cake and strawberry buttercream frosting is just so good. Red hearts appear when cutting the cake and a surprise is guaranteed.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time1 hour
Chill5 hours
Total Time7 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 722kcal
Author: Sabine

Ingredients

Red cake hearts

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 4 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 6 large egg whites*
  • 1 vanilla bean**
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
  • a few drops pink and red food coloring gel or paste

White cake

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 4 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 6 large egg whites*
  • 2 vanilla beans**
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar

Strawberry frosting

  • 1 heaping cup strawberries
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • pinch of salt (to taste)
  • 1 vanilla bean**

Instructions

Red cake hearts

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Then line a 9x13" (23x33cm) baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
  • Whisk together the milk, egg whites, and vanilla and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until creamy, for about 2 minutes.
  • Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Mix them in on a low speed and just until combined, for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Divide the batter into 2 bowls and add the pink food coloring to one bowl and the red coloring to the other. Stir until evenly colored and combined.
  • Alternately spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and draw a few swirls with a knife to create an irregular pattern. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Then remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
  • Once the cake has cooled, cut out hearts with a 1.5" (3.8cm) heart-shaped cutter. You will need about 24-26 hearts.*** Set aside.

White cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Then line two 8" (20cm) baking pans with parchment paper by cutting out circles for the bottoms and strips for the sides. Use a little baking spray under the paper so that the paper adheres to the pan. Set aside.
  • Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
  • Whisk together the milk, egg whites, and vanilla and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until creamy, for about 2 minutes.
  • Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Mix them in on a low speed and just until combined, for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Spoon a few tablespoons of batter into both pans just to cover the bottoms of the pans with batter. Arrange about 12-13 red cake hearts upside down in a circle on top of the batter in each pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the hearts to cover them completely.
  • Bake for about 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Then let cool completely.

Strawberry frosting

  • Using an immersion blender (or food processor), blend the strawberries until smooth.
  • Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan on the stove and set a fine-mesh strainer on top of it. Pour the strawberries through the strainer into the saucepan. Using a spatula, push the fruit through the strainer and discard the solids.
  • Bring the strawberries to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to about ⅓ - ½ cup, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely for about 1 hour.
  • In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
  • Alternately add the powdered sugar and strawberry puree and mix on low speed until combined.
  • Add the salt and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. If the frosting is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoon milk to achieve the desired consistency. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Assemble the cake

  • Place the bottom cake layer on a decorating turntable or cake plate. Spread evenly with ⅓ of the frosting. Then place the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting evenly on top and on the sides to completely cover the cake. For the most accurate results, I recommend using an offset spatula.
  • Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Then serve and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Video

Notes

* Don't discard the egg yolks. Check out the post above for some of my favorite recipes that only use egg yolks.

**First, cut off the straight end of the vanilla bean. Then place the tip of your sharp knife below the curled end and cut the vanilla bean through the middle of the bean lengthwise. Although you don't need to cut it all the way through, it's ok when you do so. Then open the vanilla bean and scrape out the flavorful seeds with the back of your knife and just use the seeds.
If you prefer using vanilla extract, substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for 1 vanilla bean.

***To minimize food waste, you can make cake pops with the leftover cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 722kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 332mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 66g | Vitamin A: 1113IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg