This indulgent recipe was inspired by another gorgeous print from luxury lifestyle brand, Marimekko, with ruby red and pastel pink blooms on a backdrop of emerald green provoking a sense of celebration and springtime.
Infused with freeze-dried strawberries, soaked in basil syrup and lavishly topped with mascarpone frosting and fresh juicy strawberries, this cake heroes the abundance of fresh berries and herbs that herald the delight of warmer weather.
I had the pleasure of creating this sponsored post in collaboration with Marimekko, and you can shop all the pieces in the collection here.
Strawberry and Basil Syrup Cake
A delightful cake infused with freeze-dried strawberries, soaked in basil syrup and lavishly topped with mascarpone frosting and fresh juicy strawberries.
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake
- 180g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g caster sugar
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 150g almond meal
- 100g semolina
- 10g freeze-dried strawberry powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 375g strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced, to serve
- 30g toasted slivered almonds, to serve
Basil Syrup
- 125ml lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
- 150g caster sugar
- 20g (medium bunch) fresh basil leaves, washed
Mascarpone Frosting
- 125g mascarpone
- 150ml double thick cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to (165°C/145°C fan-forced) and lightly grease or cake tin or line with baking paper.
- Beat butter, sugar and lemon zest in stand mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs one by one while beating on medium speed, scraping the bowl between each egg to ensure ingredients are well combined.
- Combine almond meal, semolina, strawberry powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, then slowly add half the dry ingredients to the mixer while beating on low-medium speed.
- Continue beating while adding half the lemon juice, then remaining dry ingredients, then remaining juice, until well combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, ensuring a smooth, even surface.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Prick the surface of the cake with a skewer or cake tester with at least 12-15 holes, then spoon over with basil syrup, allowing the syrup to absorb into the warm cake. Allow to cool completely in pan.
Basil Syrup
- Place sugar and juice in a small saucepan on medium heat and stir to dissolve sugar.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes until mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
- Place basil leaves and zest in a food processer and blitz to a paste while pouring the syrup into the processor to achieve a deep green basil syrup.
Mascarpone Frosting
- Gently whisk together mascarpone, cream and icing sugar by hand. Take great care not to over-whisk as the frosting can easily split.
To Serve
- Place cake on serving platter and spread with mascarpone frosting.
- Decorate with fresh strawberry slices and toasted slivered almonds.
Enjoy!
Notes
Makes one round 17.5cm (7”) cake and serves 8-10 people
You may also like:
Strawberry and Hibiscus Coconut Cake
White Chocolate and Strawberry Mini Cheesecakes with Blood Orange Syrup
Blood Orange and Rosemary Teacakes
Hello,
What is “freeze-dried strawberry powder”? What if we don’t have it? With what shall I replace rhis ingredient?
Thank you
Hi Didem, thanks for your query. Freeze-dried strawberry powder is a powder made from fresh strawberries. The flavour is natural as it comes straight from the fruit, and quite concentrated due to the drying process. It can be helpful to use it in baking in circumstances where substituting with the actual fruit will add too much water, as in the this case. Options would be to either leave it out all together, as there is a lot of strawberry flavour that comes from the fresh strawberries on to of the cake, or you could use roast strawberries. If roasting the strawberries, you may wish to follow the process used in this recipe for Roasted Strawberry Brownie Cheesecake and add the puree to the cake, although you may also then need to add only 1/4-1/3 lemon juice to counteract the extra moisture from the puree. Please keep in mind I haven’t trialled this option personally so it may require further adjustment to get the texture and flavour right. Best of luck and happy baking!
Kind regards, Salma