Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing + Introducing Emily Godfrey!

I was just about to say, it feels like an age since I last posted but that’s because it has been! Three whole months since the Amsterdam Gingerbread House I made… golly! I’m so sorry it’s been so long but unfortunately, planning a wedding takes up a lot of time. It’s even more time consuming when you plan on making and crafting everything yourself (with the help of some good friends of course). Yes I had quite a few crafternoons with some very creative friends who helped me cut, sew, tie and glue together a whole lot of decorations for the big day. Without them we couldn’t possibly have had the beautiful wedding we were so fortunate to have.

Just over two weeks ago I finally said ‘I do’ on our fourteenth anniversary. Yes! Fourteen years and I’m now officially Emily Godfrey. We were seventeen when Seb asked me out at the school fair and have been inseparable ever since. We got hitched on the beautiful Tasman Peninsula at Cascades Colonial on the Sunday of a long weekend, and lucky for us we had beautiful weather. The night before the wedding we organised a BBQ and pop-up drive-in movie night on-site at Cascades Colonial – needless to say the ‘John Candybar’ was in full swing with popcorn and lollies on offer. It was a great way to keep everybody’s ‘powder dry’ for the following day and still have an entertaining night! It’s not too often you can watch a great movie projected onto the side of a convict mess hall in the middle of nowhere – huh?

I’ll write a little more about the wedding in my next post (hopefully I’ll have some of the photos to share then) but for now I thought I’d share pictures of our wedding invites – they were a bit of fun. Seb, the cleaver little minx, designed our wedding invitations (in 3D with pink and green 3D glasses!), RSVP, information, map and thank you cards – I absolutely loved them. Our very talented friends Simon and Jenna at The Hungry Workshop were kind enough to print the invitations for us and they looked absolutely amazing! If you ever need wedding invitations designed or printed then these are the guys you need to talk to – they’re the best!

On that note, I’d like to to thank everyone who helped us out along the way; I dedicate this post to you guys. Seb and I are both so, so lucky to call you our friends. Our day was just as amazing as we had imagined, and it couldn’t have been possible without all your help – you know who you are ; )

Anyhoo, this weeks recipe is a Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake with Strawberry Buttercream which was roughly based on a pound cake recipe I found in my book The Art of French Baking. It’s one of my favourite books. My brother gave it to me which makes it extra special. I had a dig around for a strawberry cake recipe as I had a punnet of strawberries in the fridge… little did I know that strawberry cakes don’t really exist! After looking at a few Strawberry Buttercream recipes I decided I could use some of the strawberry syrup to swirl into the cake, and… it was delicious! The Strawberry buttercream is amazing and tastes incredible.

So this weekend, why not invite your friends around and bake for them. Friends are very special people, and what better way to show the people you love than to cook for them :)

x e.

Ps. I found my love heart bake tin at the Evendale Market in Tassie. This place is fantastic, aaaaaand they still only charge 20 cents entry! Love Tassie!

3D Wedding invitations: designed by Seb at Open Season, printed by the talented Hungry Workshop

3D Wedding invitations, RSVP & thank you cards: designed by Open Season, printed by the talented Hungry Workshop

left: wedding favours – loose leaf tearight: thank you cards – designed by Open Season, printed by the talented Hungry Workshop

Strawberry Syrup

1 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
muslin cloth (optional)

1. Add strawberries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil

2. Let simmer for about 10 minutes then remove from heat and let cool. If you prefer a smoother syrup without the annoying little seeds, use some muslin cloth to strain the mixture.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

based on the recipe by Ginette Mathiot – The Art of French Baking

300g plain flour
300g butter, melted
240g sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 160*C. Grease two 20cm cake tins.

2. Melt butter and set aside to cool. Measure out the flour, sugar and separate the eggs.

3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale and double in size. Slowly fold in flour, vanilla extract and butter a spoonful at a time until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Once whisked, gently fold egg whites into the yolk mixture.

5. Pour in a quarter of the cake mixture into each pan and add 3 tablespoons of strawberry syrup into each. Add the remaining mixture into the pans and gentle swirl the batter with a knife 4 or 5 times (you don’t want to over mix). Place in the oven and bake for 30-40mins or until golden brown.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups of icing sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons strawberry syrup

1. Beat together butter and 1/2 cup of icing sugar at a time until all sugar is completely combined. Slowly add the strawberry syrup a tablespoon at a time and then bean on high for about 15 seconds.

2. Pace a small amount of buttercream icing between the two cakes and continue to decorate the outside with the remaining mixture.

Enjoy!