This Strawberry Crunch Cake is simply bursting with fresh strawberry flavor! A simple vanilla sponge cake layered with strawberry frosting and strawberry and Golden Oreo crunch.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare three 6 inch cake pans by misting with cake release and lining with parchment paper.
Add the flour, sugar and baking powder to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Now add all the remaining ingredients in the order listed and beat together with a hand or stand mixer until the batter is completely smooth. This should only take you a couple of minutes.
Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through when tested with a toothpick.
Run a knife around the edges of the cake pans and invert the cakes onto a wire rack so they can cool down.
Make the frosting
Place all the frosting ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat together until the frosting is smooth and holds peaks. Use a spatula halfway through to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Make the crunch topping
Roughly chop the cookies and place in a mini chopper with the freeze dried strawberry powder. Pulse a few times until you have small crumbs. Alternatively crush the cookies in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin.
Assemble the cake
Pipe or spread a generous amount of frosting over the first cake layer. Sprinkle with some of the crunch topping and top with the second layer. Add a layer of frosting / crunch over the second layer and top with the third.
Cover the entire cake with frosting, smoothing with a palette knife and scraper. Press the crunchy topping all around the bottom of the cake and then press strawberry slices on the rest to decorate.
Notes
Freeze dried strawberries are often sold as snack packs but it’s more economical to buy a bag of freeze dried strawberry powder.
If you are using the fresh strawberries as decoration add them at last minute before serving the cake. Slice the strawberries and blot them on a piece of kitchen paper before sticking on the frosting.
The crunch topping can be made with Golden Oreos or Custard Cream biscuits (for those in the UK). Any leftover topping can be stored in a sealed container and used to top ice cream or used in desserts.
The cake will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge (*without the fresh strawberry decoration) but is best served at room temperature.