These colorful cakes feature strawberry extract in the batter, strawberry gelatin in the coating, and a fresh strawberry half as a garnish.
Strawberry Lamingtons
Serves: 24
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 5⁄8 cup seedless strawberry jam, divided
- 3 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red food coloring
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup whole buttermilk
- 1 (6-ounce) package strawberry gelatin
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 ½ cups ice-cold water
- 1 (8.8-ounce) package unsweetened finely minced shredded coconut
- Garnish: fresh strawberries, halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 15 ¼x10 ¼-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray again. Line another rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar at high speed with a mixer until light and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes. Add ½ cup jam and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in extracts and just enough food coloring to achieve desired color.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and beating until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared sprayed pan, and spread evenly. Tap pan on countertop several times to reduce air bubbles in batter.
- Bake on middle rack of oven until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely in pan.
- Turn cake out onto a cutting surface and remove parchment paper. Using a long, thin serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion, trim away and discard browned edges (approximately ½-inch) from cake sides. Cut cake into 48 (1 ½-inch) squares.
- Spread a thin layer (approximately ¼ teaspoon) of remaining 1⁄8 cup jam onto tops of 24 cake squares. Top each with a remaining cake square, light side down. Place cake stacks on remaining prepared bak- ing sheet and place in the freezer while preparing gelatin mixture.
- Combine 1 ½ cups boiling water and gelatin in a deep heatproof bowl, stirring to dissolve gelatin.
- Stir in 1 ½ cups ice-cold water. Place container in the refrigerator and let cool until thickened to the consistency of egg whites, approximately 55 to 65 minutes.
- Working with one cake stack at the time, quickly dip cake stacks into gelatin until submerged and evenly wet but not soaked. Using a fork to lift, remove cake stacks to a wire cooling rack to let excess gelatin drip off.
- Sprinkle coconut onto a small, rimmed tray. Using a fork, remove cakes from rack and place into coconut to coat bottom. Press coconut onto all sides of cakes. Sprinkle top of cake with coconut. Place cakes on a wire cooling rack, and refrigerate until dry, approximately 2 hours. Store cakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Just before serving, garnish each cake with a strawberry half, if desired.
