Strawberry Layer Cake with Citrus Crunch and Apricot Puree

Strawberry Layer Cake with Citrus Crunch and Apricot Puree

Delightfully sweet and beautifully vibrant, this cake is the perfect dessert to celebrate spring. Each layer and the frosting are infused with LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion, paired with a bright grapefruit-hazelnut crunch, and finished with a silky apricot purée made using LorAnn Super-Strength Apricot Flavor.

Share:

Ingredients

FOR APRICOT FILLING:
120g dried apricots
50g Cointreau
75g water
1g LorAnn Super-Strength Apricot Flavor

FOR CITRUS HAZELNUT CRUNCH:
110g granulated sugar
25g light brown sugar
80g cake flour
2g baking powder
2g kosher salt
50g grapeseed oil
18g finely chopped hazelnuts
1g LorAnn Grapefruit Oil

FOR CAKE SPONGE:
57g unsalted butter, room temperature
60g vegetable shortening
225g granulated sugar
50g light brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
128g buttermilk
65g grapeseed oil
16g LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion
240g cake flour
6.5g baking powder
3g kosher salt
50g finely chopped hazelnuts

FOR STRAWBERRY FROSTING:
226g unsalted butter, room temperature
90g vegetable shortening
110g cream cheese, room temperature
35g corn syrup
30g LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion
275g confectioners' sugar
2.5g kosher salt
1g baking powder
1g citric acid

FOR STRAWBERRY SOAK:
50g whole milk
2g LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion

Recipe PDF

Strawberry Layer Cake with Citrus Crunch and Apricot Puree
R0541.pdf Download PDF

Directions

FOR APRICOT FILLING:

1
In small bowl add dried apricots, Cointreau, and water. Cover and allow to soak for 8 hours.
2
In a small saucepan, add apricots and soaking liquid. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, or until very tender.
3
Add to food processor and puree.
4
Add LorAnn Super-Strength Apricot Flavor and pulse 2 times.
5
Scrape puree into container with a lid and set aside to cool.

FOR CITRUS HAZELNUT CRUNCH:

1
Preheat oven to 320°F.
2
Line quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.
3
To the bowl of a stand mixer, add all ingredients.
4
Mix on low until small crumbles form. About 2 minutes.
5
Spread onto prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the crumbles begin to brown.
6
Set aside to cool.

FOR CAKE SPONGE:

1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
2
Prepare quarter sheet pan by spraying with nonstick spray, line with parchment, and spray parchment.
3
In bowl of stand mixer, add butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat on high for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
4
Add eggs one at a time, making sure each one is completely mixed before adding the next. Scrape sides of bowl.
5
To a measuring cup with pour spout, add buttermilk and grapeseed oil.
6
Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly stream in the buttermilk oil mixture. Mix for another minute. Scrape sides of bowl.
7
Add LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion and mix for 30 seconds.
8
In medium sized bowl, whisk cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
9
Add to mixing bowl and beat on low speed until it is just combined, and no streaks remain. About 2 minutes.
10
Fold in hazelnuts.
11
Spread evenly onto prepared quarter sheet pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
12
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before making frosting and assembling.

FOR STRAWBERRY FROSTING:

1
To the bowl of a stand mixer, add unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, and cream cheese. Beat on medium high for 5 minutes, periodically scraping the bowl.
2
Add granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat for another 5 minutes, until mixture is pale and fluffy.
3
Add corn syrup and LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion. Beat for 1 minute.
4
In medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, and citric acid.
5
With the mixer off, add the sugar mix. On low speed, allow mix the butter with the dry ingredients until just combined, then turn the speed to med/high and mix for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed.

FOR STRAWBERRY SOAK:

1
In a small bowl, mix the whole milk and LorAnn Strawberry Bakery Emulsion. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY:

1
Once the cake is completely cooled, invert onto flat surface and remove parchment.
2
Starting in the lower left corner, use a 6-inch pastry ring to cut a round. Repeat in the upper right corner.
3
With the larger scraps, cut half circles.
4
Clean your pastry ring.
5
Place 6-inch cake board onto quarter sheet pan and place clean pastry ring over the cake board. Line with 6-inch-tall acetate collar.
6
Create your first layer of sponge by arranging the half circles into prepared ring. Press firmly to make sure surface is even. If there is any open space, fill in with cake scraps.
7
Using a pastry brush, brush strawberry soak onto layer, being careful to not over saturate.
8
Add half the apricot puree and spread evenly making sure to push the puree up to the collar.
9
Sprinkle a layer of citrus crunch onto the puree, pressing the crunch into the puree.
10
Spread 1/3 of the frosting onto the puree.
11
Add second circle of cake, pressing to make even.
12
Repeat the soak, puree, crunch, and frosting layers.
13
Add your third and last layer of sponge, flat bottom side up. Press to make sure it is even.
14
Add remaining frosting, taking care to make this layer nice and smooth.
15
At this point, you can garnish the top layer with the remaining citrus crunch.
16
Place in freezer for at least 6 hours.
17
When ready to serve, remove from freezer. Slide off ring and remove acetate collar. Allow to come to room temperature before slicing.

Products Used In This Recipe

Shop All
Shop All