Butter Cake with Semi-Sweet Strawberry Chocolate Drizzle

This past Saturday, I relived some of my favorite things I remember about college. Birthdays with friends, various debauchery, and an impromptu Undie Run with the original crew. All in all, I think Janene's birthday was an overall success.

Not wanting the lady of the hour to go without something delicious to eat, I decided to make her a Birthday cake. Her roommate Shannon, whom I have mentioned before, made her these insane black bottom cupcakes with a cream cheese center for her actual birthday. Attempting to go the polar opposite, I opted for a butter cake. But this one is extra special. Making a homemade strawberry puree, I swirled that into the bottom layer and then added a chocolate strawberry drizzle over the top. Oh yes... It was SO GOOD! And here is how it's done...


Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk (I use 2%)

Glaze and Strawberry Puree
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs hot water
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with butter, and then lightly flour the surface.This will insure that the cake will not stick to the pan. The last thing you want is a birthday cake with the top half of it ripped off.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Make sure everything is thoroughly incorporated. set the mixture aside.

Cream the butter and white sugar together. Next, add the eggs, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. First, start with about half the dry, mix together. Next, half the milk. Mix together. Repeat. Stir until everything is mixed together.

Next, it it time to make the puree. Add the strawberries, lemon juice, water, and sugar to a blender. Blend until smooth. Set the mixture aside.

Now, pour ONLY HALF THE batter into prepared pan.

Next, pour 1 cup of the puree on top of the batter. Add the remaining half of the batter on top of the puree. Take a stick, end of a spoon, whatever you have, and CAREFULLY swirl the bottom half of the cake together with the puree. You want a solid layer of butter cake on top, with a swirled bottom layer.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Make sure to test with a knife. Before you remove the cake from the pan, make sure to line whatever serving dish you plan on presenting the cake on with wax paper strips. This way, when we glaze it, we can simply pull the wax paper off for a clean looking finish on the cake.

When the cake it done, remove from pan by placing the plate with the wax paper on top of the bundt pan. Flip upside down, and the cake should come out. You will see a strawberry layer on bottom and the buttery layer on top.

To make the glaze, add 1 cup of the puree to 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir the chips. Microwave for another 45 seconds. By now, the mixture should be silky and smooth, with hardly any lumps.

Place the chocolate mixture in a zip lock bag. Seal it. Cut off the tip, and drizzle over the cake.

Let the cake set for a minute. Pull off the wax paper carefully. Wipe up any excess chocolate.

You will notice subtle strawberry swirls. Paired with the buttery moist cake, you could really use any fruit. Maybe try blueberries or raspberries. I hope you enjoy it!