I made this cake for Valentines. According to me, nothing screams romance like fresh strawberries…. dont know why! My local Albertsons was selling chocolate covered strawberries the entire day. Yum. But we didnt buy them because I had already made this cake and we had bought 4 lbs strawberries from Costco. This was the first cake I learnt to make back in India. My friend came over with the necessary ingredients and taught me how to make it while I helpfully stirred the batter. We didnt have an oven, so our pressure cooker filled halfway with sand doubled as an oven. At the end of it, the alluminium pressure cooker was blackened beyond recognition and this delicious cake was the only reason I didnt get a lecture of a lifetime from my dad
Back home we used fresh cream/malai. Over here I use sour cream. For the frosting I used canned whipped cream. Hop over here at Crafty’s for the crocheted version

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter(room temp)
1 and half cup All purpose flour/maida
1 cup sugar
3 eggs ( yolks and whites seperated)
1/2 cup malai/sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
Method:
Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease 2, 6inch round pans and keep aside.
Sift together flour,salt,baking soda,baking powder and keep aside.
Cream together on medium speed butter,sugar,egg whites till light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes).
Then add the sour cream,milk and vanilla essence. Blend till combined.
Then add the sifted flour mixture into the wet batter and blend on low speed until just combined. Donot overmix.
In the end add the egg yolks and stir it in by hand. See that it is well mixed.
Divide it into the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean.
Remove from the pans and allow it to cool.

For the filling, I just chopped up strawberries and mixed them with the canned whipped cream and layered this between the 2 cakes.
I topped it with the same mix.
February 21, 2009 at 4:29 am
Hello HC, this is one wonderful cake..well reg. ur blackened pressure cooker, it gave up its beauty while transforming itself frm cook to baker!
Loved the decoration wt strawberries n cream! (Hey if you need, you can steam it in parchment paper..the main thing missing wd be the aroma of turmeric leaves though!:) I did that for some disfigured turmeric leaves..packed them wt the rice batter in parc.paper got the aroma intact too!
) hv a lovely weekend!
LOL…thats a sweet thought about the cooker giving away its beauty
And I dont think I will like patholis without the tumeric leaves…the fragrance is one of my fond memories. But I think I’ll give parchment paper a try.
February 21, 2009 at 5:21 am
That is a delectable cake HC, love fresh Strawberries!
Thanks Asha
Fresh strawberries are always in demand at our place.
February 21, 2009 at 6:41 am
That looks delicious. I’m a sucker for strawberries.
Thanks Lyandra
Strawberries are universal favourites I think.
February 21, 2009 at 7:55 am
what a delicious, soft cake it seems to me,pity that u did not make it heart-shaped ,then u could have sent it to me:(
Yeah even I was thinking about it yesterday
Last year I made heart shaped cookies…so this year I made something with strawberries…maybe next time
February 21, 2009 at 10:33 am
u hv used a pressure cooker as an oven? with sand filled in? so my colleague wasnt lying when she said she baked with sand..
the cake looks good… i like easy to do frosting/decorating.. just like this one’s.. strawberry is in season here..so shud try this before it disappears from the mkt!
Yup Mandira….your friend was not kidding
We used to hardly bake anything …so the pressure cooker was a good option…..but the scrubbing I had to give the pressure cooker was so not worth it
February 21, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Looks so good. You’re making me all shy about my recent hair brained cake baking exploits…
LOL…this cake is easy. I am coming over to read about your baking adventures
February 21, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Great looking cake! I am looking forward to fresh strawberries.
Thanks Kevin
February 21, 2009 at 5:59 pm
That picture is so delicious I feel lile gobbling it all up. Very nice recipe.
Thanks Soma
It is simple and yummy!
February 22, 2009 at 7:00 am
Wow Homey!! I envy envy envy ppl living near u n pity pity pity myself for living so far away! i’d be dropping in at ur place, sniffin ur kitchen n givin u the hungry puppy look every week!! That cake is fabulous n loved the lil anecdote too
Strawberries seem romantic prob coz they r a natural aphrodisiac! 
Now, as promised…1 crochet vanilla cake with strawberries comin up!
LOL….I would gladly cook for someone as appreciative as you
On second thoughts why dont you move here
Waiting to see the crochet version.
February 22, 2009 at 9:48 am
Looks yummy and delicious .I also made my first cake in pressure cooker and also it was done back in India .:)
Thanks Dhanz. After baking in such beautiful ovens over here I dont think I will be able to bake in a cooker again!
February 25, 2009 at 12:12 am
Oh Gosh.. now that looks absolutely sinful.. i made a chocolate cake for a friend’s 1st wedding anniversary and decked it up with fresh strawberries…was Yummilicious!!:D
[came her thru Roops blog:)]
Oh, you shd go watch Delhi6, just for the colours, the songs and Sonam kapoor…:)
LOL…thanks Aarti
Chocolate and strawberries are the ultimate combination! Your friend must have been thrilled! Thanks about the Dilli 6 tip….I have to make absolutely sure that the movies is good before I pester my husband into taking me
If its playing nearby I’ll defintely go.
February 25, 2009 at 9:57 pm
OMG! you are SO offcially a Kitchen Goddess!
i cant even DREAM of baking! it just seems such an art! awesoem job HC! and plpray that someday i get to eat your haath ka khaana! i can give my famed smile in return! :p
cheers!
LOL…thats a deal. Visit California to have my haath ka khaana
Anything for a genuine smile! And I find baking more easy than cooking. You just have to blindly follow the measurements and method. Seriously try it,u’ll be a pro in no time !
February 26, 2009 at 9:53 pm
[...] inspiration for this cake is Homey’s Vanilla Cake with Fresh Strawberries. I’ve tried to replicate her tall vanilla cake, chopped strawberry-whipped cream center [...]
February 27, 2009 at 9:12 am
First time here and great collection. Love that Cake
Thanks Paru
Hope to see you again!
February 27, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Wow.. very tempting cake.. The fresh strawberries look great…
Thanks Ishani. Yup fresh strawberries are really something
February 28, 2009 at 11:33 am
That cake looks so light and fresh and good!
Thanks Kevin
You’ve described it perfectly!
March 4, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Cake looks delicious.I am currently on diet and now iam drooling!
))fresh strawberries on valentines day..uh so romantic!
Thanks Kalpana
Wow…you are on a diet…I can never be on one
March 5, 2009 at 2:21 am
Wow wow wow….Yummy…..
Thanks Lubna
March 6, 2009 at 12:33 pm
the picture is simply delicious.. we also did the sand in cooker routine once or twice..
LOL….I dont think I will bake in a cooker ever again
The scrubbing is too difficult!
March 10, 2009 at 11:09 am
first time here..cake looks yummy…
Thanks Vrinda and welcome
March 19, 2009 at 4:24 am
Cake looks luscious with the strawberries & cream…
I remember a baking episode with sand filled vessel too when i was young.
Thanks. I think back in those good old days many of us have had the baking with sand experience
Its fun to remember how we managed to bake without an oven!
May 18, 2009 at 7:25 am
[...] was simple vanilla cake with chocolate ganache frosting. I just blindly followed the recipe for ganache from the website. I [...]