There is something about Irish grown strawberries that just screams summer! Once you’ve tasted the juicy and sweet flavour of an Irish grown strawberry, the summer has well and truly arrived! Perfect with Aldi’s range of Specially Selected Ice Cream. You should always store your strawberries in a cool, dry place or in the fridge. Strawberries are generally eaten raw, just remove the stalks, wash them and serve! Perfectly ripe berries should be plump and a rich red colour. They also freeze really well and can be used to make great desserts, salads, jams and smoothies. This is a really good way to preserve strawberries to enjoy out of season!
Aldi’s range of Bord Bia Assured Irish strawberries are delivered fresh in store daily for the summer months. You can pick up 300g of Irish Strawberries for just €2.49 or 400g for €3.29!
Why not use the delicious strawberries to whip up a Strawberry Layer Cake- the ultimate summer dessert! Check out the recipe below.
Strawberry Layer Cake:
Serves: 16 people
Prep time: 55 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
340g The Pantry Self Raising Flour
340g The Pantry Caster Sugar
300g Unsalted Butter, softened
3 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
6 x medium Eggs
2 tsp. The Pantry Baking Powder
2 tsp. The Pantry Vanilla Extract
½ tsp. Salt
Buttercream Frosting
1.5kg The Pantry Icing Sugar
750g Unsalted Butter, softened
1 tsp The Pantry Vanilla Extract
3 tbsp. Milk
½ tsp. Salt
3-4 drops Pink Food Colouring
To Assemble and Decorate
200g Choceur White Chocolate
300g Specially Selected Strawberry Jam
1 x 400g punnet Fresh Irish Strawberries, sliced, plus extra to decorate
The Pantry Sprinkles
Baking
3 x 20cm sandwich tins – if you want a taller cake, use smaller tins and increase the bake time.
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas Mark 5 and grease and line 3 x 20cm sandwich tins.
- Place all of the ingredients for the cake into a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Spoon the cake mixture evenly between the 3 tins and bake the cakes for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a cocktail stick comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool for 10 minutes until easier to handle and then turn them out of the tins and leave to cool. When cold, carefully slice the cakes in half using a bread knife, to create 6 even layers.
- Make the buttercream by beating the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract, salt and milk together using an electric mixer or stand mixer until light, smooth and fluffy.
- Place the first cake on a turntable and spread over a layer of buttercream, then top with strawberry jam and a few fresh strawberries. Place the next cake on top and repeat until all 6 cakes are stacked. Then do a thin smooth coating of buttercream all over the cake and leave to chill for 30 minutes.
- Hold back a few spoonful’s of the buttercream and then add a few drops of pink food colouring to the remainder and mix. Ensure that the cake is level and then place some of the pink buttercream on the top of the cake, spread over the top and gradually smooth down the sides to cover the cake in a thin coating of the buttercream. Leave the cake in the fridge to chill for half an hour.
- Gradually melt the white chocolate in a microwave and then pour onto the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Place the remaining pink and white buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a star nozzle, and then pipe some swirls of buttercream on top of the cake.
- Finish off the cake with fresh strawberries and sprinkles. Store the cake in the fridge and remove it a few hours before eating so that the cake can get to room temperature.
