Fresh Strawberry Marble Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper; grease and flour the sides.

2. Puree whole strawberries in the bowl of a food processor or electric blender and set aside.

3. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

4. Beat egg whites in another large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until peaks form. Gently stir into the batter.

5. Pour 1/2 of the batter in a medium bowl and set aside. Add pureed strawberries and food coloring to the remaining batter and mix well.

6. Pour batters evenly into the prepared cake pans, alternating between red and white batter in each pan.

7. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each layer comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Immediately run a spatula between the cakes and the sides of the pans. Let cool for 15 minutes; remove cakes from the pans. Remove paper. Cool completely on wire racks.

8. While cakes are cooling, mix confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, butter, milk, strawberry extract, vanilla extract, and food coloring together in a bowl. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

9. Frost the bottom cooled cake layer and add 1/2 of the sliced strawberries evenly. Repeat for second layer. Add the top layer. Frost the top and sides, covering any trace of strawberries in the layers.

Cook's Note:

If you don't have fresh strawberries, you can use 2 teaspoons strawberry extract in the batter instead.