I make a strawberry flavored cake today, and while I was working on it, we had a bowl of fresh strawberries that needed eaten. So...I put them in the batter and baked it like normal.

The cake came out looking like it had brown things in it, which I know are the strawberries. Do I continue to use it, or do I throw it away and start over?

Why do I do stupid stuff like this

is it for you or a customer?

if it is for you...eat it, the strawberries in the cake will taste good...just look gross.

I am assuming you put them in whole? Are you selling this cake or is it for your family/yourself? I am sure it would taste fine but it may look a little funky. I would not sell it but would try it for my family as they will try anything!
Tracy

I am actually very curious for you as well. I have put fresh sberries in and this has never happened.

Sometimes fruits will react badly to the baking soda/powder in a recipe and come out looking oddly colored. Like putting fresh chopped red-skinned apples into a quick bread/cake recipe unpeeled will *sometimes* leave green marks in the finished product.

It often depends on the recipe.
Store-bought berries are often (when out of season especially) artificially ripened and so they don't hold up as well in baked goods as in-season sun-ripened berries do. They have more moisture and less sugar.
Makes them act wonky a lot.

Sorry it happened! I rarely have good luck with large pieces of strawberry in a recipe, I tend to chop them fine or mash/puree them to avoid soft spots and discoloring.

Bet it still tastes good though!

It is for a customer. I have decided to go ahead and finish it. It's only a six inch cake, which is the top layer of a three layer castle.

I had something similar happen to me last year. I have always been a box mix baker and I go on a kick that I was going to be a scratch baker. so I had an order for a cake that included a strawberry layer so I made the mix baked it cooled leveled, noticed the little brown spots figured it was the strawberries decorated and delivered it. It was an oval (strawberry) a round (chocolate) and carved ruby red slippers (pound cake). they raved said it was great, then a couple of days later I asked how the cake was, and this was the comment It was beautiful and tasted good but I was expecting the strawberry layer to be pink. Well duh! I gotten better comments on box mixes and I figured it's because most younger people today are used to the taste texture and color of a box mix. So I'll stick with my good ole pillsbury strawberry cake mix. and all their other flavors too!

Jibbies