Strawberry Shortcake Cake Infused with Thyme, Rum and Coconut

If you need an easy, delicious cake that uses seasonal fruit, this is it. What are you doing for Mother's Day? Or do you simply want a beautiful cake at the centre of your kitchen?

This strawberry shortcake cake is the answer. With layers of vanilla sponge cake, with soft cushions of fresh cream and cream cheese in between, topped with fresh strawberries stewed in strawberry and raspberry jam, with a hint of rum and fresh thyme. Is your mouth watering yet? There is also a hint of coconut in the batter from the coconut cream, in addition to the (optional) coconut whipped cream.

This cake shouldn't take you long at all, you're basically just putting together the easy-to-make sponges, whipped cream, and strawberries, and you're done. I love making food with fruit and vegetables in season; it makes the finished product taste better.

Since I made the cake in Mother's Day's spirit, I add rum to the strawberries because, well, it works! But also because my mother love strawberry daiquiris. Coconut also happens to pair well with rum. Finally, the fresh thyme and lemon juice I added to brighten up and enhance the flavour of the strawberries.

Now that you know some of the behind the scenes of this recipe let's get baking!

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut or vegetable oil

2 eggs, room temperature

2 egg whites, room temperature

1 (5-ounce) coconut cream can

3/4 cup (oat) milk, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Cream filling:

2 1/4 cups whipped (coconut) cream or regular heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pack (8-ounce) Greek yoghurt cream cheese, room temperature. softened

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups strawberries, sliced (or quartered depending on your preference - save 1/2 cup of whole strawberries to garnish)

2 tablespoons (strawberry and raspberry) jam

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 teaspoon rum/extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

Set the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat the eggs and egg whites in two separate small bowls set them aside.

With a hand or stand mixer in another large bowl, beat in the oil, sugar, eggs, egg whites, vanilla, and almond extract until well mixed and smooth.

Gradually add in the flour in 2-3 parts, beating until just combined. Don’t overmix! Or you’ll end up with tough cakes. Follow this by gradually adding the milk, also beating until just combined but not overmixing. Fold in the coconut cream.

Line 3 cake tins (or 2 if you prefer) with parchment paper rounds. Or, grease the pans with butter, then dust with flour to prevent the cakes from sticking. Using a cup to ensure even cakes, pour the batter into each tin. Tap the pans on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. 

Bake for 22-25 minutes until a light browning covers the cake surfaces. You may need to rearrange them in the oven while baking to make sure they each get even heat distribution.

Mix the sliced strawberries with the jam, lemon juice, rum extract and thyme, set aside to soak. Drain when ready to assemble the cake.

Cool the cakes and make the cream filling.

In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients except the heavy cream until smooth. Add that gradually and then whip with a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form, scraping the edges to get everything in the bowl. Don’t overdo this to prevent curdling. If that happens, have some extra cream on standby to add back into the bowl or start again, no worries!

Now time to assemble the cake! Make sure the cakes are completely cooled. You can slice off a bit of the tops if you wish to level off your sponges slightly. 

Place the first sponge on a cake stand. Evenly spread or pipe a 1/3 of the cream, followed by a layer of a 1/3 of the strawberries. Top with the next cake and repeat. Garnish the top layer as you please. 

Chill for 10 minutes, then serve immediately. 

Note: This cake is at its best fresh. You can store in the fridge for a few days, then wrap and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks if you please. 

You can also save some of the syrup from the drained strawberries to add moister to the cake while serving.