A couple of years ago, a friend of mine Teena had a birthday party. Mr NQN was unable to make it because he was asked to go sailing one afternoon and having not been on the water for a few months, he decided to go sailing instead of going to her brunch. He sent her an apologetic text message letting her that he wouldn’t be able to come along. I turned up by myself and the brunch went smoothly. I apologised to her for his non attendance and she was understanding. Having lost her husband Philippe to many a rugby game, she knows that some menfolk love their sport.
It was roughly one year later that we were having another birthday dinner for her. Her phone beeped and she looked at it and her expression puzzled. She turned to Mr NQN and asked him what he meant by his text.
“I didn’t text you” he said, his brow crinkling so she showed him her phone.
It read, “Sorry I can’t make it to your birthday today. I hope you have a Happy Birthday.”
It turns out that the text had arrived about one year later while Mr NQN was sitting near her celebrating the next year’s birthday! And unlike the text, I have found that some things are worth waiting for.
The first time I heard about the Elvis strawberry cake was on an episode of Oprah that screened years ago. She and Gail travelled to Graceland to be met by Lisa Marie Presley who gave them a tour of the house and they sat down to a meal of Elvis’s favourite foods. The one item that stood out was the strawberry cake that Oprah noticed because it was like fresh strawberries. I searched high and low for the recipe and there was nothing to be found. Other viewers that were also curious about it also searched high and low. Some had looked in their copies of the “Are You Hungry Tonight?” cookbook but alas it wasn’t there.
It was late one night when Queen Viv, Miss America, Mr NQN and I were walking along Crown Street in Darlinghurst. Queen Viv pointed at a display in Route 66 which showed Cheesy Poofs, Duff Beer and a copy of The Presley Family Cookbook by Vester Presley (Elvis’s uncle) and Nancy Rooks (the maid and cook at Graceland). I went back a few days later and purchased it, delighted to see that it was an autographed copy!
And even though it was years after I had seen it on television, the strawberry cake was the first thing that sprung to mind. I flicked through it and there was the peanut butter and banana sandwich (no bacon, alas!), swirl monkey bread, smothered chicken, potatoes(sic) lasagne and even Southern fried squirrel followed by an incredible pie section with thirty pie recipes. I’ve picked out the most interesting or peculiar but it is filled with delicious sounding recipes as well. And then there was the strawberry cake!
The Presley family’s original recipe was quite different and was made up of just 60 grams of butter with no sugar at all which I thought was perhaps an oversight, given the fact that many things were high in sugar and fat. I added 1.5 cups of sugar to it because the strawberries didn’t lend much sweetness to the batter at all. The cake itself was nice enough, quite firm and a little dry. I gave it to guests and one said that she liked it while Mr NQN didn’t like it much. I personally thought that it was just too dry and decided to work on it to make it lighter. But in the interests of sharing the original Elvis recipe with you, I thought I’d put it below in case you wanted to give it a go yourself.
I’ve reworked it though, just because I do love strawberries and cream as a combination and given you my reworked version below which is lighter and less heavy than the original. Strawberries and cream is one of the food world’s most divine combinations and I loved the fresh strawberry flavour in this cake combined against the cloud of cream.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like retro recipes? And do you ever think that we would be better off without smartphones or do you think that they’re essential? Do you use them for basics like calling and texting or do you use it for internet access, tweeting and facebooking?
Oh and before I forget, I was in this month’s Dolly magazine on an article about blogging! How exciting! I can’t imagine that my teenage self ever thought I’d be in Dolly! 
The Original Elvis Presley Family Strawberry Cake
- 4 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup mashed strawberries
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons/60g butter, melted
1. Sift ry ingredients together. Add milk and eggs, strawberries and butter. Beat batter until smooth and thick in texture.
2. Divide the batter between two greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350F/180C for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Makes two layers.
Please note: there’s no sugar stated in this recipe and I did find the cake quite firm in texture.
Strawberry Layer Cake
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
- 250 g/8 ozs butter softened
- 2 cups caster or superfine sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cups cake flour (sifted twice with baking powder)
- 5 teaspoons baking powder (sifted twice with flour)
- 2/3 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice added)
- 250g/8.83 ozs. fresh strawberries, blended, reserving a few tablespoons for the cake filling
- 600ml pure cream
- 3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
- 400g/14.1 ozs. fresh strawberries to decorate
Tip: to make 1 cup of cake flour, add two tablespoons cornflour or cornstarch (NOT cornmeal) to a measuring cup and top the rest with all purpose plain flour to make 1 cup total.
1. Preheat oven to moderate 180C/350F. Line 2 x 20cm cake tins with parchment on the bottom and sides. Beat butter, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in sifted flour, baking powder, milk strawberries. Divide mixture among the two tins and bake for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
2. While the cake is cooling make the icing. Whisk cream until light and fluffy, gradually beat in icing sugar and whip until you get stiff peaks. Place in fridge. Wash and hull strawberries and slice.
3. Once the cakes are completely cooled, trim the tops if you get any peaks on top. Remove the parchment and carefully turn the cakes upside down so that the smoothest side (the base) is facing upwards. Spread the bottom cake with a layer of cream and then a few tablespoons of the reserved strawberry sauce and then some sliced strawberries and then more cream and then place the other cake on top of this, base side up.
4. I spread plain whipped cream around the sides and then added a few reserved tablespoons of the blended strawberries to the rest of the whipped cream and spread that on top. Top with the sliced strawberries cut side up and serve.
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80 Comments | Add your own
Wow, that’s a bit creepy with the text. Imagine if it was sent from someone who had died! I wonder why it happened!
The cake (your version) looks and sounds amazing Lorraine, actually having strawberries in the batter is really quite clever. I do love the odd retro recipe.
A gorgeous cake! I can’t wait to buy the first local strawberries of the season…
Cheers,
Rosa
such a pretty cake!!!
Hiya Lorraine, this cake looks stunning the pics look like its right out of a recipe book.
Bet it was beautifully refreshing.
Your blog is fab + congrats on being in the magazine!
My Cupcake Habit
Lorraine, I grew up in the 1960s with Elvis Presley very much in the fore. I have another Elvis cookbook that was published many years ago, different to this one that you’ve highlighted. Love the sound of the cake and delighted that you’ve reworked the recipe. Re smart phones… life would be so much quieter and simpler without them! I have three. One is for work and I can hear the tinkle of emails arriving 24/7. One is for tweeting and taking photos to tweet. The other is for calling a certain loved one (I have an old Optus sim that allows free calls). It is annoying though… I wonder what it would be like to leave the phones at home one day!?
I love this cake, sugar or not (probably less for my taste), any cakes with fruits make me happy!
Hi – I’ve been searching for a recipe that actually uses strawberries rather than flavor. Thank you. Question, did you make the original recipe? I see that you had added sugar and didn’t care for it. Just wondering. Thanks again.
I much prefer your version of the cake Lorraine- a cake without sugar isn’t a cake at all! I have some cool retro cookbooks, including the Official Coca Cola Cookbook that is much more fun to read than too cook out of
I really need to become more media savvy!
I just use my smart phone for calls and texts, and it has a few books loaded on it. I don’t even know how to retrieve messages from it
Congrats on Cosmo! Every girls dream come true indeed!
This cake sounds like it has promise, but just not made as oriniginally written. I think to avoid dry cake, I’d use my own recipe but take the elements.
I do like a retro recipe although some recipes from my childhood are more like bad memories. I was reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain last night and early on he mentions ham steaks with pineapple rings. My mother served this up for dinner periodically when I was a child and it has really put me off pineapple rings for life.
There are some great retro recipe books to be found. Especially if you consider them a bit of a history lesson and are fully prepared to test, adapt and change the original
Great work on this recipe Lorraine 
Congrats on the feature
And what a lovely recipe for a strawberry cake. It’s actually quite simple and I can imagine the strawberry flavour bursting right through. Mmmmm.
Such a pretty cake, Lorraine! Love the strawberry topping
.
Perfect styling and photos for a retro recipe. I recall seeing that Oprah show and I also wanted to eat the cake.
How exciting to be in Dolly! Congratulations! I’m a huge fan of strawberries and cream too but my favourite is with some meringue thrown in the mix.
I watched that Oprah episode, too, with Lisa Marie Presley.
I loved all of the food she served them! yUmmm
The cake looks like something Elvis would LOVE.
Lorraine, CONGRATS on your article in Dolly about blogging. Can I buy a copy on line?
Xxx KISS
Hi Kim! Wasn’t that episode delicious? Thanks lovely, I don’t think Dolly is available to buy online alas! But that’s very sweet of you!
xxx
Amazing, sending a post would have been much faster than text.
You didn’t discuss whether Elvis still lives.
Interesting story. I wonder if sugar added to the cream in Elvis’s recipe help? Without oven at the moment, otherwise i would give this s whirl. I actually like cakes with less sugar. Congratulations on the published article.
Congratulations on your magazine spot!
Haha, couldn’t have timed that text arriving any better!
Your cake looks lovely, and I love your photography in it too
Your photos are looking lovely in this post, L! love the styling and the cake looks amaaaaazing.
Lorraine your version has me salivating! I can even smell strawberries just thinking about it. We were in Port Macquarie a couple of weeks back and went to to the strawberry farm, I could have used this recipe then, the strawberry’s weren’t really sweet so needed something to lift them.
Oh this makes me mourn the end of strawberry season! I adore vintage cookbooks, I’d imagine the Elvis one would be hysterical!
I often find myself let down by classic or period recipes, as they lack a certain oomph that we expect from modern ones. I actually have a book of medeival recipes that had to be modified significantly to have any taste.
That said, I’m making this cake (your version).
Dangit! The form ate my comment.
I find that classic or period recipes let me down, as they don’t seem to pack the oomph that modern ones do. I have several books of medieval recipes that require significant modification to meet my standards (usually extra spices or salt).
That said, I’m making this cake (your version).
First of all, congrats on being on Dolly – and thanks for sharing
Second: I really think strawberry and cream is a classic combination without borders. The cake looks amazing, it makes me want to make it to see if it tastes half as well as it looks.
Third: What an “adventure”.
Fourth: I’d like to say smartphones aren’t that important, but they are turning into a second skin of ours, aren’t they? I mean, if I can look something up (a route, a word, a place,…) as soon as I need it, why not?
It’s lovely to see a cake so full of fruit but I do think it’s strange that this cake doesn’t have any sugar. It would taste almost like a savoury crepe? Congrats on being featured in Dolly. Good to know what sort of stories they’re running these days – haven’t picked up a copy in quite a while! xx
Strawberries and cream, what can get better than that?
I’ve heard about Elvis’s love for banana and peanut butter sandwiches though I never quite got used to the taste myself!
HOW EXCITING indeed! TRUE!
I LOVE retro recipes…love how history is preserved too!
WHAT a GREAT find re the cookbook and your cake looks AMAZING too!
Congrats on your article…today’s lovely story post brightened my day while enjoying my cuppa…thank you!
I have a mobile phone, but I never turn it on unless I am making a phone call.
You’ll have to share some of the other Presley family recipes…the PB sandwich is what always comes to mind!
We don’t have strawberries here at the moment but I’m sure I can replace this with seasonal fruit. Elvis would be proud.
woo hoo Lorraine…Dolly magazine…will give me an excuse to buy it now…{secret-buy from time to time, to see how it is going, what the layup is like etc}.
Love the look of the strawberry cake, Noela
I also tried his peanut butter and banana sandwich. It was pretty gnarly!
Hi Lorraine!
That Presley book will be really something special. I’m sure the recipes inside are solid gold! This cake looks marvellous too btw
I love retro recipes because they give you a taste of the past, whether you actually lived through that era or not. What better way to acquaint yourself with another time than by indulging your taste buds?
Congrats on the inclusion in the article in Dolly regarding bloggers! Cake as per usual looks wonderful(and calorie laden perhaps??)
Grew up in 50′s with older sister who adored Elvis so he was very much a part of my childhood.
As for retro recipes, adore them, my gorgeous sister in law in UK and me here in Aus, scour Op shops for old recipe books, then share the best recipes (or source a 2nd book, so that we can discuss online which recipes we have made) Recently bought a 1970′s cook book in Op shop and inside the cover was a stack of recipes written on everything from shop receipts, to paper bags, cardboard, torn paper etc, what a wonderful treasure trove!Some of the old recipes are definitely the best.
Itching for that book of yours to be published…..
Thanks Dirtgirl! I would have loved to have seen that 1970s cookbook! What a step back in time! And we have a release date for my book-the 25th of April and I’ll let everyone know more details as I get them!
What an absolutely delightful ‘retro’ post! :-
@ Lizzie : well, I managed the ‘growing-up’ bit in the 1950s: I still only have a landline and the computer and ‘OMG’ is it wonderfully real and quiet without all the rest
! OK: business-wise you may have to . . .
@ Theresa: went wild on the Australia Day Book sale at ‘Booktopia’ – so have just finished and absolutely LOVED Anthony Bourdain’s autobiography ‘Kitchen Confidential’ > his 40s also! About ready to get his sequel!! What glorious fun and how much have I learned!!
@ Carolyn Jung: the last 3-4 days especially have been passing on those ‘retro’ recipes to an eager group of blogfriends! Remember the famous old saying ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’ !!! Some absolute beauties there!
You make it look so pretty, cant tell that it was dry at all!
And to think I’d have a Spay Lady who’d BE in Dolly! We’re all winners!
This looks pretty darn great! I was surprised too by the original- no sugar? Ha please. And only 60grams of butter…it doesn’t sound right does it. If I were to make it, I’d trust your tastes and definitely go your version
I kind of got stuck at squirrel pie! Strawberries and cream need to be light and fluffy. We are on the same wavelength again! Congratulations on the article
I love the sound of this recipe – well your version.
I am addicted to my phone :S
Ooooh congrats on the magazine feature
And with such a delicious looking cake, I would eat it all in one
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
That is such a weird thing that the text arrived exactly a year later! The strange things that phones do…
on the subject of phones, I do think they are a part mod my life to stay. I wouldn’t know what to do without the instant access to the world so to speak… Loving it.. Well most of the time. That strawberry and cream cake looks lovely and I’m pretty sure mr Elvis would approve of your version more then the original. I’m loving retro recipes but they do need work most of the time!
I think I would make your version rather than the original, yours looks spectacularly yummy! I so envy your cookbook! I love buying “local” cookbooks when I travel and I have a wonderful collection, the pride of which is awesomely titled “White Trash Cookbook”! I’ve never cooked anything from it but I love flicking through it! The odd delayed text has caused a few tensions every now and then, we are too used to the immediate response, whatever happened to patience?!
I tried to make the cake using some masterchef products i purchased online.
It tasted great but unfortunately didn’t look as good as the one in your picture.
Looks gorgeous. I love that it uses puree strawberries in the cake. Ive got a feeling id like to make that!!. Another feather in your cap re; the article. Keep going and you’ll be an Indian soon
My husband would adore this. He is a huge fan of both cake & Elvis!
Some things are just meant to be, no matter how long it takes! You were meant to make this cake!
Dolly Magazine! Surely that’s a career highlight! Remember reading it when we were young?
Lovely looking cake and gorgeous photos, strange about that text message!
That sounds like a wonderful cake! I love fresh strawberries in baking.
As for the retro recipes, well that’s all I do in my blog of grandma’s recipes. I love them! I think there are so many great ideas that have been lost over the years.
The internet is so handy to look for a quick recipe but I LOVE cookbooks, particularly retro ones. Cookbooks for ever!!!
Hey Lorraine, looks delicious! Thanks for sharing. Any suggestions on where to get cake flour? Thanks
I have to say, things have a way of turning up in a rather serendipitous manner- I almost can’t believe your luck! The friendly spirit of Elvis must have wanted to give a poor girl what she really, really wanted… his strawberry cake recipe. :p
I’d be keen to hear what the other retro recipes are like (I love old-fashioned recipes!), particularly those pies…
P.S. Congratulations on the article, it looks fabulous!
when it comes to strawberry cakes, i’ll happily take retro OR revamped! this is a lovely creation, lorraine!
Kudos on being featured in Dolly and may I just say that your strawberry cake looks absolutely scrumptious!
This is the cake of my dreams!
Congrats on the magazine mention! You SOO deserve it.
I’m so excited to make this cake – can’t wait until strawberry season. Bookmarked!
Lorraine,
This looks gorgeous. I just purchased 4 baskets of strawberries yesterday at Kula Country Farms. (Maui)
I can’t live without my smartphone for everything from facebook, instagram, twitter, internet searches and oh telephone too!
I will the first person to put my hand up and say I cannot live without my phone and I think it is so convenient to have
But do agree it does hinder with communication sometimes.
I haven’t tried many retro recipes lately but find them quite interesting especially the ones from the Country Women Association
Lorraine, you are the BEST!!! Congratulations for the article
The cake looks ahhhhhsome!!
The text message – creepy, but it has happened with me quite a few times now. Once a message was six months late, and the sender thought someone had hacked into her phone, hahahaha!!
What a delicious cake … and how weird about the text! Growing up, I would have thought it would have been awesome to be in Dolly. Well done.
Haha what an odd text! Thanks for posting the recipe, looks delish. Oh and congrats on being featured in Dolly, hehe every teenage girl’s dream
That is too funny about the text. I could not be without a smartphone anymore mostyl for texting. My tablet is even more precious. They definitely did not have this gorgeous cake on the menu when I visited Graceland in the coffee shop.
Huge congrats for making it into Dolly Magazine. That’s squeal-worthy!
Your strawberry cake looks fabulously delicious and enormous. I absolutely love retro food, and I’m just a tiny bit jealous about your cookbook, although I do own the 70s edition of ‘Cooking with Coca Cola’ which probably comes close. I love tuna casserole, meatloaf and prawn cocktails – actually, the crayfish cocktail you enjoyed at the Ocean Grill surely constitutes retro food at its’ finest (and poshest)!
Gosh I haven’t thought Dolly magazine for a loooong time! (I wonder if my girl will like it too?)
Lovely pictures of your cake Lorraine, I’m feeling the need to go rifling through my fridge looking for sugar now though.
Wow that text took sometime to reach….lol
This cake looks fabulous n congrats my dear for the feature in the magazine.
congrats on being featured in Dolly magazine!
i love the combination of strawberries and cream. Sounds great to have strawberries in the cake batter as well.
Great that you made a lighter sponge. I would think it would make the cake taste better.
I think it’s nice to bring back retro recipes. However, these recipes need updating as tastes often evolve with time.
I like a good retro recipe too, especially if it’s as pretty as your cake. Congrats on the feature! xoxo Mum
I LOVE retro recipes! I think they are simply the best! I love strawberries though I don’t like them cooked or baked into things but this cake could change my mind. I will so bookmark this until next strawberry season! It is beautiful!
What a stunning filled strawberry layered cake! georgous too!
Congrats on the published articles too!
Yeah, power Lorraine!
I too tried chasing down the recipe. I went as far as contacting Harpo who gave me the name of the baker of said cake who I then contacted at some ungodly hour here in Australia (LOL) but alas she would not share the recipe
. No harm in trying, right.
Can’t wait to actually try this myself with a bit of tweaking.
that cake looks great – - I would be curious to try it without sugar though I agree that it looks unlikely. I expected it to have peanut butter frosting or something because I just have it in my head that he ate everything with a dollop of peanut butter
Love the sound of the recipe book
I’ve had texts that arrive at odd times but Mr NQN’s sounds priceless
Congrats on being featured on a magazine. Hope you get yourself a copy. Anddddd I so want to try this strawberry layer cake! Definitely lovely for Summer.
Oh, I love these kind of recipes. A retro family recipe. Love, love love! I grew up eating pb and banana sandwiches (the unfried variety) and love them to this day! Congrats on the article!
Such a sweet looking cake! I want a slice!!! Congrats on the Dolly feature
LOVE this cake…it looks divine!!! Congrats on your feature in Dolly!!!
Nice – Dolly was so hot when I was young, that is awesome
How interesting about the cake and the strange recipe. I’m glad you finally found it after all those years wondering.
My mama made something akin to this for our family.
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