Recipe: Strawberry Cream Cake

Over a month ago, a friend messaged me on Facebook asking if I would bake a cake for his wife.  I was flattered, so I accepted the task.  I had just started my Wilton Cake Decorating classes, so I  dreamt up a buttercream frosted cake, but he said she wanted a strawberry short cake.

“Oh..”  I said, “no problem!”  Haha.

I searched for a recipe because they had already tasted the Victoria Sponge Cake I made, and though it was a hit, it never hurts to try something new, right?

Enter Martha Stewart’s Strawberry Cream Cake.

Strawberry Cream Cake
From Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food
Serves 12

You’ll need:
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for pan
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 lb strawberries, hulled & thinly sliced
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper.  Butter and flour paper and sides. (I use Baker’s Joy instead.) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and ½ cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.

Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and ¼ cup sugar; set aside. Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes.  Place saucepan over very low heat, and stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Remove from heat; let cool.  Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form.  Continue to beat, and gradually add gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.

Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border.  Cover with top half of cake, cut side down.  Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border.  Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.

Twas a hit. :)