Strawberry Compote For Cake In 15 Minutes

My strawberry compote for cake recipe is perfect for a simple vanilla butter cake. You can even try it with pies and puddings for.

I have a friend who calls cakes that have too much going on, “fufu cakes.” You know the kind which is all gooey, chocolatey, with all kinds of mousse inside but there is no real cake in it? Simply put, the sponge is lacking and when you take a bite, your teeth and tongue just glide through the entire cake. It is basically like eating a smoothie. It is delicious no doubt but it is not the real deal, in my opinion.

A Family That Takes heir Cake Seriously!

When it comes to birthdays at home we make sure we have the real deal. And hence this strawberry compote aka strawberry filling happened. We are a family of five. Therefore I bake at least 4 cakes every year for the others. For my birthday, I always get one from the store. My favourite is the Signature Mille Crepe Cakes from Lady M and the Mango Cake from COVA Pasticceria. The kids usually ask for something chocolate. So almost all kinds of chocolate cakes and cupcakes have happened including red velvet and the latter with some cream cheese frosting remains our family favourite.

This time however I decided to go with a simple butter vanilla sheet cake layered with my youngest’s favourite fruit filling – strawberry. And because everything was homemade, the strawberry compote had to be made at home too. Considering how easy it is to make, getting a store-bought filling sounded criminal. I had some gorgeous fresh strawberries in the refrigerator. So in they went into a saucepan with a dash of butter and brown sugar on a low flame. Spiked with some lime juice, they were thickened with corn starch and cooked until the berries turned soft and mushy.

I let it cool before spreading it over the cake of course. The sweet tangy flavour of the strawberry compote went so well with the cake. Also, it kept the layers moist without having to add any sugar syrup or frosting in between. I highly recommend this strawberry filling to take a basic vanilla cake to the next level.

Strawberry Compote For Cake Recipe

Ingredients 

1. Fresh or frozen strawberries- 2.5 cups; if using fresh, wash well, remove the green stem and chop fine; if using frozen no need to thaw, add frozen berries straight to the pan
2. Butter – 1tbsp
3. Brown sugar – 2 tbsp or as per taste
4. Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
5. Corn starch – 1 tbsp

Method

1. Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and reduce heat
2. Add chopped strawberries along with brown sugar and cook till sugar dissolves
3. Next, add lemon juice and continue to stir and cook on a low flame for another minute or so
4. Now add corn starch and mix well; cook for 5 minutes on a very low flame with intermittent stirring till the compote thickens in its consistency. It will thicken further on cooling so make sure to leave it a little watery
5. Taste and adjust sweetness
6. Take it off the heat and using a potato masher, mash it to a smoother consistency
7. Cool and transfer to an airtight container, refrigerate and use within 2-3 days

Watch a quick video here to guide you better: