Mother’s Day Vanilla Naked Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting & Strawberries

Not to brag, but Mother’s Day was my daughter’s favorite holiday when she was little. ❤ It has now been surpassed by her birthday, Easter, and Christmas, of course, but she still recognizes it is an important day. 🙂 She tirelessly made this cake- completely independently- for Mother’s Day this year.

My son made a family favorite (my choice!), Penne with Vodka-Cream Sauce, for our Mother’s Day dinner. He served it with garlic bread and a giant salad. This lovely dessert topped off our celebratory meal. Lucky me! 🙂

The recipe was adapted from one of our favorite birthday cakes, Rainbow Sprinkle Cake, contributed to The New York Times by Julia Moskin. She used 8-inch pans, omitted the sprinkles, and modified the proportions and baking time. She also topped the cake with fresh strawberries. Delicious.

For the Cake:

• 1/2 cup/110 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), slightly softened, more for pans
• 1 1/2 cups/190 grams all-purpose flour, more for pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2/3 cup/158 ml whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar
• 1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 6 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), slightly softened
• scant 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
• 2 1/4 cups/225 grams confectioners’ sugar, sifted, more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pound fresh strawberries, optional

To Make the Cake:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees, preferably on convection, and place a rack in the center.
2. Butter and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Flour the pans, coating the bottom and sides, then tap out any excess flour.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a small bowl, stir together milk and vanilla.
5. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, slowly add egg and whites and beat until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl.
7. Add half the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating to blend after each addition.
8. Scrape down bowl and blend once more.
9. Remove bowl and use a spatula or spoon to fold in sprinkles by hand.
10. Divide batter evenly between the pans (approximately 400 g per pan), and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. (She baked the cakes for 22 minutes.)
11. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 2 to 4 hours, before turning out.

To Make the Frosting & Finish the Cake:

1. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, butter and salt together at medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, slowly add sugar and beat until smooth.
3. Beat in vanilla just until incorporated.
4. Taste frosting; you should be able to taste the cream cheese and a little bit of saltiness, as well as the sweetness. If desired, add more salt or sugar. Keep refrigerated.
5. Turn cooled cakes out of pans.
6. Using a bread knife, cut off any domed or uneven parts of each cake to make flat surfaces.
7. Place one of the cakes on a platter or a cake stand, cut side up. Line the edges with parchment or wax paper to keep the cake stand clean.
8. Using an offset spatula, frost the top.
9. Stack the other layer on top, cut side down.
10. Place remaining frosting on top of the cake and, working from the center outward, frost the top and sides of the cake, as desired. (She kept the sides relatively naked.)
11. Top the cake with sliced strawberries, as desired.
12. Refrigerate cake 30 minutes or longer to set. Serve cool.

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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