Story, Value, and Becoming More Real
share post

Louisiana Strawberry Cake

April 15, 2020

Maribeth Barber Albritton



 

My grandfather grew up on a strawberry farm in Maurepas, Louisiana. His mother was a small, industrious woman of hardy Spanish stock, and while she and her husband may have been dirt-poor—at least during those grim, post-Depression years of World War II—she was known as an exceptional cook. She knew how to make a good old-fashioned Cajun meal out of minimal ingredients; her gumbo and jambalaya are still some of our family’s favorite recipes.

My mom not only inherited some of “Mawmaw’s” homemade strawberry flats, but she insists on celebrating her birthday every year with Mawmaw’s strawberry cake. It calls for at least 6 cups of fresh berries, so it may cost a small fortune if you don’t have your own strawberry patch! Still, if you can get your hands on a big bucket of berries, it’s an easy, light, refreshing cake, perfect for spring picnics.

 

Ingredients:

One 2 layer yellow cake (made from scratch or from a boxed mix)

6-8 cups fresh strawberries

Sugar, stevia, or other sweetener to taste

Instructions:

Prepare your cake according to the recipe or the instructions on the box. When the cake layers are cool, slice each one in half so that you now have 4 thin layers.

Slice and rinse your strawberries, then mash them with a potato masher. You want the berries to be juicy, but not puréed; you should have small, soft chunks of berries in the mash. (If the strawberries are a little over-ripe, mashing them will be easier.) Add a little sugar or stevia to taste, then allow the mash to sit in the refrigerator for an hour.

Place one of the cake layers on a plate and make thin holes all throughout with a knife. Pour some of the strawberry mash over the layer, enough to coat the entire layer all the way to the edges and allowing the juice to seep in. Place another layer on top of the first one, poking more holes with the knife before spreading more strawberries. Repeat with each layer, making sure to spread the strawberry juice around the sides of the cake.

When the whole cake is covered in berries, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap so it won’t slide around or lose its shape. Refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.

You can serve this cake with ice cream or whipped cream, but it’s lovely on its own!  



The featured image is courtesy of Maribeth Barber and used with her gracious permission for Cultivating and The Cultivating Project.



 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

A Field Guide to Cultivating ~ Essentials to Cultivating a Whole Life, Rooted in Christ, and Flourishing in Fellowship

Enjoy our gift to you as our Welcome to Cultivating! Discover the purpose of The Cultivating Project, and how you might find a "What, you too?" experience here with this fellowship of makers!

Receive your complimentary e-book

Explore the

Editions Archive

i

organized for ease by author and category.

View Our Editions Archive