Presenting two recipes that are just in time for the strawberry season. 

Almond cake with strawberries in red wine

Ingredients: 

• 275 gm castor sugar
• 220 gm marzipan
• 220 gm unsalted butter, softened
• 6 eggs
• ½ cup self-rising flour
• ½ cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Icing sugar, to dust
• Thick cream or mascarpone, to serve

For the strawberries with red wine:

• 500 gm strawberries, hulled and halved
• 125 gm castor sugar
• 350 ml Chianti Classico or other red wine
• Strip of lemon peel

Method: 

• To make the strawberries in red wine, place them in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar, then pour the wine over the top. Refrigerate for 12 hours.
• When ready, drain the strawberries, place the wine mixture in a small pan with the lemon peel and ¼ cup (60 ml) cold water, and cook over high heat until reduced and syrupy. Allow to cool completely, and then pour over strawberries. Refrigerate until needed.
• To make the almond cake, preheat the oven to 160°C and grease and line the base of a 28 cm spring form cake pan.
• Combine the sugar and marzipan in a food processor, then add the butter and process until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the self-raising and plain flour and baking powder, scrape down sides of bowl, and pulse to combine well. Spread into the prepared pan and cover with foil.
• Bake for 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake 20 minutes further or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Watch cake as it can brown quickly; if it does, cover loosely with foil.
• Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut the cake into slices and dust with icing sugar. Serve with the strawberries in syrup and some thick cream or mascarpone.

Strawberry red velvet short cake

Ingredients: 

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 500 gm unsalted butter
• 350 gm powdered sugar
• 500 gm cream cheese
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 5 gm salt
• 200 gm strawberry

For the red velvet cake:  

• 345 gm refined flour
• 6 gm baking powder
• 10 gm cocoa powder
• 5 gm salt
• 115 gm unsalted butter
• 400 gm icing sugar
• 240 gm vegetable oil
• 10 ml vanilla extract
• 15 ml white vinegar
• Food colour

Method: 

For the red velvet cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
• In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla. Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed. Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven, evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean, for about 30 minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before layering. 

For the cream cheese frosting: 

• In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, and then gradually stir in the sugar.
• Start the placing the frosting on the cake. Once you have finished layering and stacking the cake, spread this softened cream cheese frosting over the entire cake. Refrigerate.
• Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread the remaining cream cheese frosting over the cake in a thick coating. Once all the frosting has been used, garnish the cake with fresh cut strawberries.
• Place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.