Williams Sonoma Vanilla Cake review

Sorry about the silence! I have been extremely busy with shelf exams, rotations, and of course trying to get in some much needed R & R. So my apologies to my 4 faithful readers - I definitely dont want to lose you! :) It was my roommate's birthday recently and my other roommate and I decided to make her a vanilla strawberry cake. Being low on time, we figured a box mix would be easier. In actuality, we should have just gone out and bought a ready made cake; this cake took almost 4 hours to make. We also didnt have time to make the frosting either so we just used Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate frosting.

Ingredients:

1 box mix of Williams Sonoma vanilla cake mix (this also requires egg, butter, milk...and i cant remember what else. Sorry, you'll have to check the box).

1 pint heavy whipping cream

6 tablespoons sugar

4 pints strawberries

1 tub of premade frosting (we used betty crocker dark chocolate)

powdered sugar/confectioner's sugar for decorating

Method:

1. Assemble the ingredients.

2. Wash the strawberries. Dont they look beautiful? Yes, it warranted a picture. :)

3. Cut the strawberries into 1/8 inch thick slices (reserve 5-6 whole strawberries to decorate the top of the cake at the end). Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the cut strawberries and place in the refridgerator for them to chill and soak.

4. Start making the cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Here are some pics of the action.

5. Decide the cake batter into 3 round 8" tins.

6. In a separate bowl, add the whipping cream and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Beat on high until the cream stiffens. Then place in the refrigerator until the cakes are completely cooled.

7. When the cakes are completely cooled, with a serrated knife divide them into two layers. Add a layer of whipped cream, and then strawberries, and then another layer of whipped cream and then stack the divided layers together. Repeat until you are satisfied with the amount of layers your cake has.

8. When you are done stacking the cakes, with a serrated knife, trim around the edges so that all cake layers are of uniform size and shape. Now's your opportunity to snack on those cake scraps!

9. With an offset metal spatula, apply a thin layer of frosting to the entire cake (a "crumb coat") which will catch any of the crumbs before you apply another coat which will make the frosting smooth.

10. Using a strainer, put some powdered sugar into the strainer and shake it lightly over the cake to decorate the top.

11. Place some of the sliced and whole strawberries on the top and enjoy! Here's the final product after we dug into it.

So, what's my take on the Williams Sonoma Vanilla cake mix? Well, it was definitely better than any supermarket brand cake mix (i.e. Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, etc). It was moist, had a wonderful vanilla aroma, and tasty but I still think homemade is the best. Was it worth the $9.99 for the cake mix? (I got it on sale, regular price is $14.99). Hmm, not sure. My roommates loved the cake, they felt it was tasty. The consistency of the cake was extremely easy to work with in terms of stacking the cake and decorating it, which was nice. I feel like the supermarket brand cake mixes are a little more crumbly. Would I buy the cake mix again? Probably not, but I am glad that I tried it. That said, I still heart williams sonoma food! Its a staple in my cupboard. Oh, and the dark chocolate Betty Crocker frosting? Not a fan. Homemade frosting is way better too. Thanks for reading!