Strawberry Champagne Cake |Cooking With Amanda

Has anyone watched Bakers vs. Fakers on the Food Network? I am kind of addicted to the show and I am always so impressed with the desserts they come up with.

Once you start an episode you have to watch it all the way through so you find out who's a baker and who's a faker. I just love cooking competitions; I've also started watching Beat Bobby Flay. What are you favorite cooking shows?

Sometimes when I am in the kitchen I have SO much going on that it feels like I am on my own cooking show running back and forth to the pantry, trying to make multiple things at once. Which is exactly what happened with this cake.

I happened to make this the same weekend as my Mimosa Cupcakes, but really I think I just felt like popping a bottle of champagne and needed an excuse. I also had a batch of cookies and a no-bake dessert going at the same time.

While it's hard to pick a favorite, I am very partial to anything with champagne and this Strawberry Champagne Cake is right up my alley.

The cake recipe is quite simple. It starts with a cake mix, and for the liquid I used a combination of orange juice and champagne.

However, you don't need to go buy orange juice. After you first zest the orange into the cake, you can then squeeze the juice directly from the orange. The cake itself it light and airy.

The champagne glaze is an essential part of this cake. It's similar to a poke cake in that once the cake is baked you poke holes all over the cake and then pour the champagne glaze over top.

The glaze is everything you want it to be, buttery and decadent with a touch of champagne flavor. It's made on the stovetop and boiled until it's thickened. It also very easy!

This isn't the first time that my champagne glaze has made an appearance on my blog. I first made my grandmother's classic pound cake and added the champagne glaze. I also used this glaze for my skinny champagne parfaits, because it pairs perfectly with fresh berries.

The fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting is a little bit tangy and a little bit sweet. It can be difficult to make a strawberry frosting because of the additional water in the berries.

This combined with the soft cream cheese makes your frosting appear very thin at first. As much as you want to keep adding more powdered sugar to make it thicker, you must resist! This will thicken back up in the refrigerator.

This cake is a bit on the sweet side, so cut yourself a small piece and go back for seconds.

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Strawberry Champagne Cake Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 box White Cake Mix, I used Betty Crocker
3 large Eggs
1 cup Champagne
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Orange Juice, squeezed from the orange
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 large Orange, zested

For the Glaze:

1/2 cup Butter
1/4 cup Water
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Champagne

For the Frosting:

8 ounces Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 stick, at room temperature
4 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon Heavy Cream, or milk
6 Strawberries, washed, dried and thinly sliced
pinch of Salt
1 large Orange, zested

Directions

For the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch by 13-inch pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients: cake mix, eggs, champagne, oil, orange juice, vanilla extract and orange zest.
Beat all of the ingredients until they are well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcake is done. Allow the cake to cool.

For the Glaze:

Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
Stir in water and sugar, bring to a boil and continue for 5 minutes on medium-high while stirring constantly. Mixture will become bubbly and thick.
Remove from heat and stir in champagne, continue to mix until smooth, glaze will become much thinner. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Start by poking holes in the top of the cakes using a wooden spoon or other round object.
Pour the cooled glaze over top of the cake and allow the cake to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

Allow the cream cheese and butter to come to room temperature.
Beat the cream cheese and butter together until they are smooth, scraping down the bowl occasionally.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, continuing to beat the frosting all together. As the frosting starts to thicken, add the heavy cream.
Lastly, Add the chopped strawberries, pinch of salt and orange zest and increase the mixer to high and until for another 60 seconds until all the ingredients are well mixed.

To Serve:

Spread the cream cheese over the cooled cake. The frosting will be relatively thin, but it will thicken in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and keep refrigerated when not serving.