Vanilla Bean Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Helloooooo summer and helloooooo vanilla bean cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream! This moist and delicious, easy-to-make, vanilla bean cake recipe uses just one cake (that’s right, just ONE), sliced in half, to make a 2-layer cake! Using freeze dried strawberries, you’ll have a vibrant, perfectly sweet tasting swiss meringue buttercream for frosting and don’t forget the sprinkles! It’s the very best summery treat for any picnic, get together, or block party!

This recipe post is sponsored by Wilton. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that help to make Beyond the Butter possible!

vanilla bean cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream recipe

Creating a simple, go-to cake recipe that doesn’t take up my entire day—or days—to make and decorate has been high on my list for quite some time. And one very helpful way for keeping it simple—having the best tools to use for baking it! I must say, this vanilla bean cake recipe came together quite easily using Wilton Texturra Performance Non-Stick Bakeware and Versa-Tools! Not to mention a few other very handy tools and decorative elements which I’ll mention in the Suggested Tips and Recommended Tools section below!

vanilla bean cake

To make this vanilla bean cake, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter (room temperature), granulated sugar, egg whites, vanilla bean paste (not extract), and whole milk.

You’ll first whisk together the dry ingredients before adding them into the wet mixture. The Versa-Tools Spread and Scoop Spoonula was so nice to use for adding the dry ingredients, as well as, scraping down the sides of the bowl and spooning the cake batter into the Texturra Performance 9″ Round Cake Pan! Which, speaking of, is the perfect cake pan for making this vanilla bean cake! It baked evenly, came out of the cake pan nicely to cool thanks to the non-stick coating, and was super easy to place in and take out of the oven, thanks to the side handles. Most cake pans don’t have this!

strawberry swiss meringue buttercream

The list of ingredients for this part of the recipe is really short: egg whites, sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt, softened unsalted butter, and freeze fried strawberries that have been processed into a fine powder using a food processor.

Sometimes making strawberry swiss meringue buttercream can be a little intimidating, but with the suggested tips I include below, it should help put your mind at ease! And, as always, if you have any questions you can email me or DM me on social media.

When it came time to frost the cake, I used the Versa-Tools Universal Spatula to spread the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream on the top and along the sides which worked really well. Another thing I liked about this tool was I could scrape down the sides of mixing bowl to make sure I got every little bit of buttercream!

I set the cake in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes before I ran one of the icing combs from the 3 Piece Icing Comb Set across the top. For fun, I smoothed out some of the lines to create wider stripes before adding the Naturally Flavored Rainbow Confetti Sprinkles and Naturally Flavored Vanilla Jimmies Sprinkles! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out and even happier with how well it tastes!

suggested tips and recommended baking tools

Before starting this recipe, here are a few suggested tips and recommended tools that will hopefully give you a smooth baking experience!

suggested tips for making vanilla bean cake

• The Texturra Performance 9″ Round Cake Pan is non-stick, but I would still recommend using a flour-based baking spray to lightly coat the pan.
• The recommended bake time for this vanilla bean cake recipe is 25-30 minutes at 350ºF. For my oven, the 30 minute mark worked perfectly, but I would suggest checking your cake at 25 minutes first. You can check by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake.
• If you won’t be decorating the cake right away, you can wrap it tightly in plastic wrap (after it’s cooled completely, of course), place it in a storage bag and let it sit out overnight at room temperature.
• Use a serrated knife and a rotating cake stand to cut the cake into 2 layers.

suggested tips for making strawberry swiss meringue buttercream

• Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are throughly clean and dry before starting. Go an extra step further and wipe them both down with a paper towel with some white vinegar on it.
• You’ll know when the sugar and egg whites mixture is ready for beating because you won’t be able to feel the sugar granules when you rub a little bit of the mixture together between two fingers. It should be smooth and not gritty or sandy in texture. You can also use a candy thermometer and heat the egg white mixture to 150ºF.
• When you remove the mixing bowl off the simmering pot of water, make sure to have a towel ready to dry off the bottom, so you don’t burn yourself with any of the hot water.
• As the mixer beats the egg whites mixture into the meringue state, you can place some ice packets around the bottom to help cool it off.
• The butter you add to the meringue should be softened and cut into 1 tbsp.-size pieces. Allow each piece of butter to be fully absorbed before adding the next one.
• As you add the butter, the meringue will get a little soupy—just keep mixing it! After you’ve added in the butter, switch out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment and mix anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Your buttercream will be ready when it’s nice and smooth in texture.
• You’ll add in the freeze dried strawberries (pulsed into a fine powder using a food processor) last using a spatula. Don’t use the hand mixer or stand mixer to add this part in.
• If you’re not going to use the swiss meringue buttercream right away to frost the vanilla bean cake, you can cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Before using, bring the buttercream to room temperature (about 30 minutes), then whisk it again with your mixer to bring it back to the smooth consistency. 

recommended baking tools

• 2-cup Ninja Food Processor – for processing the freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder)
• Texturra Performance Non-Stick Bakeware Round Pan, 9″
• Versa-Tools Spread and Scoop Spoonula
• Versa-Tools Universal Spatula
• 3 Piece Icing Comb Set
• Naturally Flavored Rainbow Confetti Sprinkles
• Naturally Flavored Vanilla Jimmies Sprinkles

vanilla bean cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream

• Author: Jennifer
• Prep Time: 50 minutes (includes 15 min. prep time for cake + 35 min. for making buttercream)
• Cook Time: 50 minutes (30 minutes for baking + 30 minutes for cooling)
• Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes (does not factor in decorating time)
• Yield: 8–10 cake slices 1x
• Category: Cakes
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Dessert

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Description

This moist and delicious, easy-to-make, Vanilla Bean Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe uses just one cake, sliced in half, to make a 2-layer cake! It’s easy to make and tastes incredible!

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Ingredients

vanilla bean cake

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/8 tsp. (or a Pinch of) Salt
• 6 tbsp. Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup  Granulated Sugar
• 3 Large Egg Whites
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
• 5 tbsp. Whole Milk

strawberry swiss meringue buttercream

• 1.2 oz. Freeze Dried Strawberries, processed into a fine powder
• 4 Large Egg Whites
• 1/8 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, room temperature and cut into 1 tbsp.-size pieces

recommended baking tools

• 2-cup Ninja Food Processor 
• Texturra Performance Non-Stick Bakeware Round Pan, 9″
• Versa-Tools Spread and Scoop Spoonula
• Versa-Tools Universal Spatula
• 3 Piece Icing Comb Set
• Naturally Flavored Rainbow Confetti Sprinkles
• Naturally Flavored Vanilla Jimmies Sprinkles

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Instructions

vanilla bean cake

1. Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level position and pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray the 9″ cake pan with a flour-based baking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until nice and fluffy.
4. Add in the egg whites and beat until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Add in the vanilla bean paste.
5. Switch the mixer speed to low and alternate between adding in the dry mixture and the whole milk, and mix until just combined.
6. Pour the cake batter into the lightly coated 9″ round cake pan, place in the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick into the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

strawberry swiss meringue buttercream

1. Using a small food processor, process the freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder. Gently remove the top of the food processor to avoid having the strawberry powder go everywhere.
2. Place the sugar and egg whites in a glass or metal mixing bowl (either one that is stand alone or part of a stand mixer), and set over a pot that is filled with 1″-2″ of simmering water.
3. Whisk continuously until the mixture reaches 150ºF and/or the sugar has completely dissolved. You can check this by taking a small amount of the egg white mixture and rub it between two fingers. It should be smooth, not gritty in texture.
4. Carefully remove the mixing bowl from the simmering pot, wipe the bottom off with a towel, and beat the egg white mixture using a hand mixer or your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high to high speed until it forms the stiff meringue peaks and (this is important) the bottom of the mixing bowl is cool to the touch. This can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes. 
5. Add in the butter one piece at a time, allowing each piece to fully absorb into the meringue mixture. If it looks mushy or curdled, continue to beat on high speed. After you’ve added in all of the butter, switch out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment and mix anywhere from 5-10 minutes. The meringue buttercream is ready when it is nice and smooth in texture.
6. Using a spatula, fold in the freeze dried strawberry powder.
7. When it’s time to frost the cake, carefully cut the cake into two layers using a serrated knife and (optional) a rotating cake stand.
8. Chill the frosted cake for 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator (optional step) before running the icing comb over top. Add the sprinkles, then enjoy!
9. If not using the buttercream right away to frost the cake, you can cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Before using, bring the buttercream to room temperature (about 30 minutes), then whisk it again with your mixer to bring it back to the smooth consistency. 

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Keywords: vanilla bean cake, vanilla bean cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, strawberry buttercream, buttercream, wilton cakes, texturra bakeware, versa tools, cake recipes, vanilla cake, vanilla bean paste, easy cake recipes

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