Strawberry Cake

My baby girl just had her first birthday. I decided to make this cake from scratch, following an EatingWell cupcake recipe. The recipe is definitely healthier than a store-bought cake mix, with whole wheat pastry flour and real fruit and without all of the extra ingredients from a mix. It also tastes pretty darn good. The texture is spongier than a box mix, but more delicate than a muffin. Since I wanted to decorate the cake I used the Wilton buttercream frosting recipe instead of one of the frostings suggested on EatingWell. The frosting isn't healthy, but honestly, it's one of the only things that I EVER use shortening in. So I'm ok with it.

I really liked the cake. Well, at least after it was thawed. I had it frozen for ease of decorating and to preserve it until the party, but forgot to pull it out in time. One hour is not enough time to thaw this cake so it was solid and my husband could barely cut through it. I learned that babies make much less mess with frozen cake. Also, strawberries taste better thawed.

Strawberry Cake
(adapted from the Blueberry Cupcakes recipe that can be located at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/easy_healthy_cupcake_recipes)

2 large yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (I didn't have any so I did the ol' 1 cup minus 2 tbsp a.p. flour trick)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk (1 tbsp lemon juice + enough milk to make 1 cup)
2 cups strawberries, 1/2" dice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease pans and place parchment on bottom of cake pans for ease of removal.
2. Boil potatoes in water until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and mash until smooth. If you have a potato rice, now would be the time to break it out. Measure out 1 1/2 cups and let cool.
3. Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
4. Beat sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl until combined. Beat in egg, vanilla, and potato until combined. Alternately add your dry ingredient mixture and your buttermilk, starting and ending with dry ingredients, scraping down sides as needed, just until combined (don't overmix it!) Gently fold in strawberries.
5. Divide batter between two 8"x8" square pans (or whatever pan your heart desires) and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted towards the center comes out clean. (Sorry I'm not sure how long this took.  The cupcakes take 22-24 minutes, so I know it's at least 5 minutes longer than that.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Freeze before frosting to reduce crumb issues and to extend shelf life (only keeps 1 day at room temp). Just remember to remove it from the freezer well before you serve it.

Rosemary