Fruit Basket Cake With Luscious Strawberries & Whipped Cream
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Fruit Basket Cake With Luscious Strawberries, Bananas & Whipped Cream
In the state of California, Fruit Basket Cake takes center stage in local bakeries and markets during spring and summer. This beautiful cake is moist, light, and delicious. But if you’re not from California, you can still enjoy a slice of heavenly Fruit Basket Cake with luscious strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. Today I’m sharing how to make a Fruit Basket Cake from scratch.
A gourmet Fruit Basket Cake begins with three layers of golden buttermilk cake. The layers are then filled with fresh strawberries, banana slices and thick whipped cream. Growing up, Fruit Basket Cake was a family favorite. My Mom and Dad would often request this cake for their birthdays. When strawberries are not in season and just bananas are used, it’s referred to as a Banana Whipped Cream Cake. In addition to the decorative strawberries on top, a delicious and colorful option is to artfully add blueberries, raspberries and kiwi slices. After all, when it comes to Fruit Basket Cake, the more fruit the better!
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So pull up your hair, put on your apron and roll up your sleeves. You’re about to experience the beauty and fun of baking up a heavenly Fruit Basket Cake! Once your family and friends taste this California favorite you’ll be asked to create a beautiful Fruit Basket Cake for an upcoming birthday or spring/summer celebration.
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Buttermilk Cake Recipe | Ingredients
- 8 jumbo egg yolks
- 2 jumbo eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 + 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 + 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 tablespoons canola oil
[bctt tweet=”Savor the taste of fresh strawberries, bananas & whipped cream: Make a Fruit Basket Cake!” via=”no”]
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Buttermilk Cake Recipe | Directions
PUT A LARGE METAL BOWL & BEATERS INTO THE FREEZER FOR LATER (FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM)
- Grease and flour three 7-inch round cake pans
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.
- Add softened butter, canola oil, and half of egg/buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients.
- With a hand mixer beat ingredients on medium-low speed for about 2 & 1/2 minutes to fluff & combine.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the remaining egg/buttermilk mixture. Blend for another half minute.
- Pour the batter into the cake pans, evenly distributing the batter between the three pans.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.
- Slide a toothpick or skewer in the middle of each cake. If it comes out clean then the cakes are done.
- Place the hot cake pans on cooling racks and allow them to cool for 12 minutes.
- To help dislodge the cakes, carefully run a thin metal spatula around the inner edges of each cake pan.
- Turn the cakes onto cooling racks.
- Allow cakes to cool completely.
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Stabilized Whipped Cream | Directions
Although you can stabilize whipped cream using a standard gelatin method, it’s much easier and less of a hassle if you use a commercial cream stabilizer. For home bakers this product comes in little envelopes or jars. Whipped cream stabilizer from King Arthur’s Flour can be found on Amazon. Dr. Oetker Whipping Cream Stabilizer is found at Walmart.
- 3 & 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream – chilled
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 packets whipped cream stabilizer
Now that the cakes are cooled, take your mixing bowl and beaters out of the freezer; they should have been chilling for at least an hour. Whip together the heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. When the mixture is thickened, add the two packets of Dr. Oetker Whipping Cream Stabilizer. Continue whipping the mixture until it holds in firm peaks. Don’t over beat!
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Fruit Basket Cake Assembly
- With a cake leveler (or a serrated knife) smooth out the cake layers by carefully slicing off any raised sections.
- On the first cake layer spread whipped cream.
- Evenly layer slices of bananas and then spread more whipped cream on top of the bananas.
- If not using bananas, put heaviest fruit on this bottom layer so finished cake will have more stability.
- Add cake layer number two and layer whipped cream on top.
- Place sliced strawberries on top of the whipped cream.
- Add more whipped cream on top of the strawberries.
- With the bottom of the third cake layer facing the ceiling, carefully place it on top.
- With an icing spatula, smooth whipped cream on the top and then cover the sides.
- Make sure the whipped cream on the sides reaches the top.
- Run the spatula all around the sides of the cake to make the whipped cream smooth.
- Now go back and smooth out the whipped cream on top of the cake.
- Using a decorating tip, pipe decorative touches on the upper and lower rims of the cake.
- 5. Arrange strawberries on top.
- 6. Refrigerate until serving. Slice with a serrated knife.
OPTIONAL: For a colorful variation, place kiwi and strawberry slices in a circular pattern on the top of the cake. Lightly brush strawberry glaze on this sturdier fruit (a container of strawberry glaze can be purchased at your local supermarket). Much like sprinkling confetti on a beautiful arrangement, gently add creative touches of delicate fruits like blueberries and raspberries.
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Super Helpful Cake Decorating Tools
I love sharing baking tips and tricks! This rotating turntable for decorating cakes is so helpful. It provides an elevated position ideal for icing and applying finishing touches to your cake. The simple decorating comb and icing smoother is very handy. Together these helpful cake decorating tools make life so much simpler. After investing time and ingredients to make this delicious dessert, you want your Fruit Basket Cake to look absolutely spectacular!
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Fruit Basket Cake Recipe | Servings
This divine Fruit Basket Cake serves 8-10 people.
How to Make a Fruit Basket Cake | Fruit Basket Cake Recipe | Inspiration
This delicious recipe was inspired by the beautiful fruit basket cakes found in Sacramento bakeries and markets!
EDIT/UPDATE: I just discovered a lovely recipe for a lighter version of this cake – the layers are airy chiffon. Aileen from the blog Dessert.Design.Life can show you how it’s done: http://dessertdesignlife.com/fruit-basket-cake/ I love that this amazing baker is from my home-town of Sacramento, CA.
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Can I use 8″ round pans? I can’t find a set of 3 7″ pans on Amazon and really don’t want to own 4!
Yes. Use what you have on hand. The 7-inch pans will work just fine.
Hi Denay! Fellow sacramenten here, would you recommend making this cake the day that you plan to eat/serve it? Making it for a Baby shower and would love some advice! Thanks
Hello Chrissy. Cake is always better served and eaten on the day it’s made. Congratulations to the new parents-to-be!
I am from Sacramento there was a little hole in the wall bakery on Hazel ave in a little shopping center . I don’t know if they are still there it’s been several years since I have been in Sac .I live in southern Cali now. I miss home. I was born at Mercy General down town. And Albertsons always made the best fruit basket cakes
Could I use whole eggs instead of just yolks? I would hate to waste egg whites.
Having lived 26 years in Sacramento, I miss fruit basket cakes and want to try this but need it for a lot more people. This may be a stupid question but I’m not a baker. Do you think I could make it sheet cake size instead? I am expecting 40 people for my birthday party next month.
Hi Denay,
I love actually finding a Fruit Basket Cake recipe from someone who understands exactly what one is. I too am from Sacramento and loved this cake for my summer birthday typically from a small bakery in Citrus Heights that unfortunately is no longer in business. Having access to plentiful, fresh berries is something I took for granted now that I’ve relocated to the Central Oregon Coast, finding a sweet, ripe berry is a luxury I no longer have. Thanks for the recipe!
Why does the & inch round cake pans have 2 lines through them? What am I supposed to use?
Kathy from Sacramento!
Hello Kathy! I apologize about the lines. Those were Amazon links to show the products used. When the Amazon products are no longer available, the links no longer work and a line automatically goes through them. Many wishes for a great week ahead!
Hi Denay! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I love fruit basket cake!
The list of ingredients calls for 1 cup of buttermilk. In the directions, it says to whisk “the buttermilk” with the other ingredients of the egg mixture, and then it says to add 1/2 cup of buttermilk (plus the oil and butter) to the dry ingredients. Is this an extra 1/2 cup of buttermilk, on top of the other 1 cup listed before? Or am I to divide the 1 cup of buttermilk into two 1/2 cups?
Thanks!
Good morning Andrea. Thank you so much for asking about this! I really appreciate it. I just updated this recipe to make the directions clearer. I love knowing that soon you’ll be enjoying this scrumptious fruit basket cake with your family and friends. It’s absolutely perfect for spring and summer! Have a wonderful day. :-)
Thank you so much, Denay! Freeport Bakery has always been my to go place for fruit basket cake (I read you were from Sacramento, ;)) Your recipe looks delicious so I am hoping I can enjoy it more often.
On a different note, I was surprised to find a recipe for pisco sour on your page. Like your husband, I am from Chile so there is always pisco at my house, :-)
Oh my goodness, Andrea! That is absolutely amazing. I love that you’re from Chile too, just like my hubby. Last year we took a vacation to Santiago, Vina del Mar, and Patagonia. It was such a fabulous experience. Chile is a gorgeous country filled with wonderful, warm people. :-)
How much berries and bananas do u use? I don’t know if it’s somewhere in the recipe and I can’t find it or not. Thanks.
Hi Reese! I usually use 2-3 bananas and 3 little baskets of strawberries. The amount of fruit is really a personal preference. It depends on how thickly you slice it, and how much fruit you’d like left over to garnish your beautiful fruit basket cake. I know you’re going to love this recipe! Have a great weekend.
I am making this cake for my youngest daughter’s upcoming 1st birthday! One cake for all the guest and one for her smash cake, it’s going to be the perfect cake for a end of July party. Your recipe for whipped cream icing is the only one I found that says to put a whipped cream stabilizer in it, No wonder my whipped cream icings haven’t been staying firm like I’ve wanted, so thank you!