Galentines Cake Strawberry Buttercream (Print)

A festive vanilla layer cake frosted with smooth strawberry buttercream in a pink ombre effect, perfect for special occasions.

# Ingredients:

→ Vanilla Cake

01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
05 - 2 cups granulated sugar
06 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
07 - 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
08 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature

→ Strawberry Buttercream

09 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
10 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries, finely ground
12 - 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
13 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14 - Pinch of salt
15 - Pink gel food coloring, optional for ombre effect

→ Assembly and Decoration

16 - Fresh strawberries, optional for garnish
17 - Edible glitter or sprinkles, optional

# Instructions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.
05 - Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
06 - Divide batter evenly among three prepared pans and smooth the tops level.
07 - Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
08 - Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks and cool completely to room temperature.
09 - Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and ground freeze-dried strawberries. Mix in heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until fluffy and smooth.
10 - Divide buttercream into three bowls. Leave one plain. Tint the second bowl light pink and the third deeper pink using gel food coloring. Transfer each shade into separate piping bags.
11 - Level cake layers if necessary. Place first layer on serving plate. Spread with lightest buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers, using medium and dark buttercream as you stack.
12 - Spread darkest pink buttercream around bottom third of cake, medium pink in middle, and lightest pink on top. Smooth with offset spatula or cake scraper to blend colors slightly.
13 - Garnish with fresh strawberries and edible glitter or sprinkles if desired. Chill for 30 minutes before slicing for clean layers.

# Pro Tips:

01 -
  • The ombre effect looks fancy enough to impress, but it's actually forgiving if your color transitions aren't perfectly seamless.
  • Freeze-dried strawberries give you that intense berry flavor without adding moisture that would sink the frosting.
  • You can bake the layers weeks ahead, so all the stress happens on a calmer day.
02 -
  • Overmixing the batter after adding flour is the quickest way to end up with a dense, tough cake—mix just until the streaks of flour disappear.
  • Gel food coloring is essential for ombre work because liquid coloring adds moisture and turns your frosting grainy and soupy.
03 -
  • Have all your ingredients at room temperature before you start mixing—this makes a measurable difference in how well everything incorporates and creates a more tender crumb.
  • If your buttercream looks grainy after adding the powdered sugar, it means the sugar wasn't sifted; just keep beating and it'll come together, but sifting saves you this headache.
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