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Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake…because it’s SPRING!
Or it will be on Tuesday, so close enough. And Yes, I know that a lot of you are still covered in snow right now, but I think this cake will bring on the spring vibes, and in turn the weather will play along. It’s all about positive thinking, right?
Yes, right.
Also, happiest FRIDAY!! I am very excited the weekend is here, and hoping for a little bit of down time after a busy week. We have been working endlessly over here on multiple projects, the biggest one being the studio barn. There has been lots of decision making and hair pulling, so I know everyone over here is ready for a bit of a reset. We probably will not get it, but hey, it’s all going to be worth it in the long run!
Thankfully, a lot of my “hard” work and days spent in the kitchen this week resulted in a few beautiful creations, like this strawberry cake that makes ending the work day, extra, extra sweet.
As most of you probably know, I am normally all about the chocolate desserts. Read, the more chocolate the better. See this cake for example. BUT that’s not to say that I don’t still love a good fruity dessert. Granted it took me a while to warm up to fruit based desserts, and I do still think of them as more of a brunch type of item than dessert, but regardless, I now love them.
With spring on its way and Easter coming up in less than two weeks, I knew I needed to share this strawberry chamomile cake that I’ve literally been thinking about since December. I’ve said this before, but sometimes I get ideas in my head months and months before I actually create them. Sharing a strawberry cake in December really does not make sense, so I waited and waited and finally the time has come.
And guys? To be expected, I LOVE this cake.
For one, it’s covered in chamomile flowers, which you all know I am obsessed with.
Two, and most importantly, this cake honestly is so DELICIOUS. It’s light, springy, perfectly sweet, hinted with warm chamomile flavors, and studded with fresh springtime strawberries.
Basically, this cake is spring in cake form, and it is good! I also say this often, but you need this cake in your life. My grandpa said it was the best cake he’s ever eaten!
I made this cake with Easter in mind, but it’s obviously great for any and all spring (and summer) occasions. Mother’s Day, a spring brunch, or just a simple weekend treat.
It’s pretty easy to make, and I love that it’s a naked cake, as opposed to a cake covered completely in frosting. Naked cake means easy, peasy, and doesn’t require any fancy decorating or really any decorating skills at all. Layer everything up, add strawberries, and done.
Yes, please!
The cake base is my favorite vanilla cake with sweet strawberry jam swirled throughout. It’s simple, but really delish. I used a strawberry jam instead of fresh berries in the cake because I found that using jam was easier. The jam actually resulted in a better strawberry flavor, and baked up prettier than using fresh berries in the cake.
For the topping, originally I was planning on doing a frosting, but during my second attempt at the cake I realized that a lighter topping would compliment the cake much better, so I made a chamomile cream to slather all over cake layers. I love that the cream is hinted with the warm tones of chamomile tea and has just the right amount of sweet. It’s perfect topped with plenty of fresh strawberries.
SO, what do you think? Is this your new Easter cake? Are you going to make it next week to celebrate the start of spring? Or maybe save it for Mother’s Day? Whatever you decide, just be sure to make this cake. The sooner the better, because as soon as you make it this cake will be come your new go-to fruity dessert.
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Servings: 28 servings
Calories Per Serving: 314 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup high quality strawberry jam
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- honey, for drizzling
Chamomile Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 chamomile tea bags
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the canola oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined. Gently swirl in the strawberry jam, leaving large streaks and not fully incorporating the jam. 3. Pour the batter among the 3 cake pans and bake 28-30 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.4. To make the chamomile cream. Add 1 cup cream to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, but do not boil, simmer 1 minute and remove from the heat. Add the tea bags, cover and steep for 5-10 minutes. Remove the tea bag and place the cream in the fridge to chill completely. Next, beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer until fluffy, add the chilled chamomile cream and remaining 1 cup cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Stir in the powdered sugar. Keep stored in the fridge. 5. To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand and drizzle lightly with honey. Spread 1/3 of the chamomile cream over the cake and add a handful of fresh chopped strawberries. Repeat with the remaining 2 cake layers. Be careful not to over fill your layers with fruit or the cake will be hard to slice. Serve or store in the fridge for up to 1 day. If desired, decorate the cake with chamomile flowers.
Layers and layers of spring strawberry perfection.
Hi Tieghan,
So I’m making this for my hubby’s bday tomorrow but as another reviewer mentioned, my frosting isn’t doing stiff peaks. I followed frosting to a T to refrigerate it to have ready but it wasn’t as stiff as I would’ve liked. I refrigerated it in hopes that maybe it’ll thicken up more tomorrow.. in the event that it doesn’t, what else could I do to thicken it up so it won’t be a waste? Thanks so much, big fan!!!
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try!! Are all of your ingredients cold? That really will make a huge difference! I hope this helps! xT
Favorite cake ever. I’ve made this multiple times.. so easy and delicious! I personally love using Trader Joe’s night time team for the frosting (minty camomile) and switching out the strawberry for blueberries and blackberries.
Hey Kate,
Awesome!!🤩 I truly appreciate you making this recipe so often and sharing your review and love to hear that it is always a hit! xTieghan
We learn you must be extremely careful what flowers you choose to use on an edible item. Many flowers can be toxic and those bought in regular grocery stores could be sprayed with pesticides.
Please refer to online guides for flowers safe to use, and buy organic!
Thanks for sharing Laura!
I made this cake today for my son’s birthday and it was so delicious! I baked the cake layers yesterday and they kept great in the fridge. I should have trimmed the layers so that they would sit flat on each other, though, because once I cut into the cake they started sliding everywhere and the cake had to be sort of scooped into a bowl. Oops!
The flavors were all absolutely on point, though, and it tasted amazing. My son had requested a “strawberry cake” for his birthday (he’s three) and he was absolutely thrilled with it.
Hi Robyn,
Happy Monday!! I truly appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Birthday to your son! xx
Hey! I saw this on Pinterest and fell in love,I’m thinking on making it but I have no canola oil,is Sun flour oil okay to use? If not what other oil could I substitute it for
Hi Sara,
Sure, any other neutral oil will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Can’t wait to try this recipe for a dinner party this week. Just wondering if you could make the cakes ahead of time and wrap them then fridge or freezer for a day or two without drying out? And I saw another comment which you said was possible to make the cream a few days ahead, would that be before or after whipping? Thanks!
Hey Megan,
Sure, you could make the cakes in advance and keep them in the fridge or freezer! The cream can be made ahead but you will want to freshly whip that. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Just made this perfect cake for my 1yr-old’s bday party. Easy enough to make that my three year old was part of every step and loved it, and it was so moist, perfectly sweet (sweet but also light and not overbearing), and beautiful- even with my kid icing it. I can’t imagine a better cake for strawberry season- we have no leftovers lol
Thanks for this recipe!
Hey D’Arcy,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and sharing your review! Happy Birthday to your little one:) xxT
Do you think I could use another oil instead of canola? I have peanut oil available
Hi Em,
Sure, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
This is such a delicious cake! I made it for the women’s brunch at the church I attend and it is scrumptious! Not too sweet and so perfect for summer because it’s not heavy!
Hi Aimee,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for sharing your feedback and making this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Happy 4th of July!??
Hi, I can’t wait to make this! Could you tell me how long the chamomile cream could be stored in the fridge prior to assembling? Thank you!
Hi Laura,
It should be good for a couple days in the fridge. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xx
Hello! This will be PERFECT for my daughter’s first birthday—it’s Coachella inspired! I’m thinking about making a 2-tier version of this cake. An 8-inch and a 10-inch. It’s stressing me out trying to figure out the conversion. Do you have it handy?
Would also love any other tips you have for making this 2-tiered 🙂
Thanks!
Hi there,
Sorry I don’t, I would just follow the recipe as written and then use an extra batter to make mini cupcakes, no need to over complicate it:) I hope you love the recipe and happy birthday to your daughter! xTieghan
I made this recipe yesterday. The frosting would not peak, so I would give more specific instructions about how to whip it. Also, where does the honey go? Good idea to mention buying flowers too in the beginning to decorate it like the picture.
Hi Alina,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback. Did you use heavy cream and an electric mixer? It typically takes some time, but heavy cream will eventually whip:) The honey is used in step 5, sorry you missed that. The flowers are not necessary, but totally optional, you can decorate the cake however you like:) xTieghan
Hi Tieghan
About how long and what temp would you recommend for this recipe for cupcakes?
Hey Jacklyn,
I would keep the temp the same but reduce your bake time to 25-30 minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe! xx
Thanks so much for getting back to me! I’m making it again for my grandma’s birthday because she loved it so much the first time I made it! 🙂
Awe love this! Happy Birthday to your grandma!!