Caramel Syrup
Add a decadent drizzle to ice cream wafflewiches, caramel apple floats, RumChata cheesecake and homemade frappuccinos. And if you’re craving all things caramel, try one of these gooey caramel desserts next.
Read MoreStrawberry Poke Cake
Drescription
What makes this poke cake so special? After this lightened-up cake is baked and cooled, it's poked with holes (hence the name!) and filled with fresh pureed strawberries, thickened with gelatin to prevent the cake from getting soggy. The end result? Sweet strawberry flavor inside and out!
Ingredients
- baking spray with flour (see tip)
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, plus 1/2 teaspoon, divided
- 2 ¼ cups sugar, divided
- 2 ½ pounds fresh strawberries
- 1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- whole-milk vanilla greek yogurt or whipped cream for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with baking spray; set aside. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the butter melts and the mixture is warm, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside. Sift together flour and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat eggs, lemon extract, salt and 1 tablespoon vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Gradually add 2 cups sugar, beating on medium speed. Beat until all the sugar is incorporated; increase speed to medium-high; beat until the mixture becomes fluffy and lighter in color, 2 to 3 minutes more. Gradually add the milk-butter mixture, beating on low speed until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and place it on a work surface. Using a spatula, gradually add the sifted flour mixture in 4 batches, folding until incorporated (use a whisk toward the end of mixing to evenly combine). Pour the mixture into the prepared pan; smooth the top. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, trim strawberries, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, transferring the sliced strawberries to a medium bowl as you work. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar to the strawberries; toss to evenly coat. Let stand for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Drain, reserving the juices. Set aside 3 cups strawberries. Place the remaining strawberries, the reserved strawberry juices and gelatin in a food processor or blender; process until smooth, about 1 minute. (You will have about 2 cups strawberry sauce.) Set aside until ready to use.
- Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes 1/2 inch apart over the surface of the cooled cake. Pour the strawberry sauce over the cake, letting the sauce fill the holes. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Arrange the reserved 3 cups strawberries in rows over the chilled cake; sprinkle the cake with mint. Dollop with yogurt (or whipped cream), if desired, and serve.
