Manageability – Surprisingly easy for a masterpiece
I ordered a bunt cake pan specifically to make this Martha Stewart’s Strawberry Swirl Bundt Cake, and it did not disappoint.
Martha’s directions on this were pretty easy to follow, and honestly the finished product was fan-tas-tic. A few notes – I don’t really know how to “swoop” to marble, but a slight clockwise twist of the wrist with your butter knife gets it done – don’t focus too hard on it because you don’t want to mix it too much. Also, be sure you really coat the inside of the pan with both flour and butter so the cake can slide out in tact. The cake itself was light, fluffy, and sweet, with a not-overpowering strawberry flavoring that made it tasty and colorful. And sprinkled with confectioner sugar in the end? This was my pièce de résistance.
Guys, I’m a really good cook.
Ingredients
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), whisked, plus more for pan
- 2/3 cup egg whites (from 5 to 6 large eggs)
- 3/4 cup whole milk. I guess if you use 2% that would be 3/4 of 2%, or .0015.
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 teaspoons plus a pinch of kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons ground freeze-dried strawberries (1/2 ounce)
- 2 drops pink gel-paste food coloring
- 1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced (2 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack in center. Brush a 10-to-15-cup Bundt pan with butter; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together egg whites, milk, and vanilla. Beat butter with 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, baking powder, and 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 2 Beat in flour in three additions, alternating with egg-white mixture, and beginning and ending with flour. (You should have about 7 cups batter.) Separate 2 cups batter and stir in freeze-dried strawberries.
- Step 3 Transfer 1/4 cup strawberry batter to a small bowl; stir in pink gel paste until combined. Stir mixture back into remaining strawberry batter a little at a time, until you achieve desired color.
- Step 4 Spoon 2 1/2 cups vanilla batter into bottom of pan. Top with all of strawberry batter, then remaining vanilla. Run a butter knife through batter four times to swirl, then use to fold and swoop in a couple of places to further marble.
- Step 5 Place pan in oven; reduce temperature to 325°F. Bake until top of cake springs back when lightly touched, 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack and let cool completely.
- Step 6 Stir together strawberries, remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt; let stand until sugar dissolves, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat cream with confectioners’ sugar on high speed to soft peaks. Dust cake with more confectioners’ sugar and serve with whipped cream and macerated berries.