Fluffy, moist, vanilla cake layers separated by homemade vanilla whipped cream and strawberries soaked in sugar.
My plan was to eat some of this cake while writing this post in the attempts that I would have a full Strawberry Cake experience and the taste of it would come pouring out into this blog so that all could read this and taste it as well. What really happened was that just as I sat down to start typing, my computer needed to restart to finish updating. Okay, I will restart now. Click. Taking a bite of my cake...and waiting....take another bite...still waiting...trying to save my cake for when I'm writing but instead take another bite....and still waiting....consume entire said piece of cake in a matter of 3 minutes while the countdown on my computer goes from 10 minutes to 9 minutes to 18 minutes and back down to 9 minutes. The struggle is real. I'm impatient. But you know what, my impatience only comes around delicious food so that's something. I'm a horribly impatient baker. Which is the worst kind of baker (actually I'm sure there are plenty of worse things). This is an awful characteristic and I'll tell you why. Because I can hear you asking. Duh. I have no problem baking until something is completely done, no one wants to eat a runny cake. BUT, when it comes time to cool, by god I cannot do it. Seriously someone needs to help me. I have ruined plenty of beautiful desserts because I can't sit and let something cool completely before frosting it or putting it together or cutting it or whatever needs to be done to it I just cannot let it be. My problem is I'm always saying "it's cool enough"...No.. it is not...it is not cool enough (in my case at least). So, I made this cake. I actually waited and then put it together and there was just something not quite doin' it for me. The cake wasn't fluffy enough. So the next day I actually went to the store and bought all NEW INGREDIENTS because I'm batshit insane and made an entirely new cake. All for that picture and the fluffiest cake you ever saw. I made the new cake. It was perfect (sensing my past tense here?), I put it on the cooling rack. I went into the kitchen at least 7 times in a matter of half an hour to decide whether I should start making the whipped cream. No are you crazy? Of course don't make the cream the cake isn't nearly cool enough. Okay I mumble as I exit the kitchen. Only to have this same argument with myself another 20 times. What did I do? I went into the kitchen and started making the whipped cream and I layered that cake like it had cooled for 3 hours instead of 45 minutes and stacked it high and set it in the refrigerator for 1 hour and by the time I opened the fridge to check on it and see it in its glory....it had slid in half in two different directions. I actually did a thwarted evil villain NOOOOOOO. I felt like the fairies in Sleeping Beauty holding up their cake with a broomstick. There was one lonely side, however, that was still beautiful in the shadow of its melancholy of seeing its fallen brethren. So I sliced it and took some awesome side shots.
I call this a Strawberry Cake because out of curiosity I looked up, "What makes a shortcake", and apparently the texture is supposed to be like a cornmeal biscuit. So all those people stating they've been making strawberry shortcake and it looks like a cake are LIARS and should be ashamed. You made a cake. It's not short. It's tall. And fluffy. It's a cake. Therefore, in a later post I will make an actual strawberry shortcake but for now, enjoy this delicious Strawberry CAKE. And heed my advice, let it cool completely before layering. I'm not going to lie, this does take some time. Mostly because you have to wait for everything to be cooled.
Ingredients:
For the Cake
3 3/4 cup Gluten-Free Flour or regular all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Strawberry Filling:
1 Large Clamshell of fresh strawberries or 21 oz can of strawberry pie filling
1/8 cup of sugar (for fresh strawberries)
3 tbsp cornstarch
Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Using a stand mixer on high speed, cream the butter and sugar together until very fluffy and light in color.
4. Add the 4 large eggs one at a time, scraping the sides as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract.
5. Change the mixer speed to low and alternate adding in the flour mixture and the buttermilk until everything is just incorporated. At this time you can slowly mix in the egg whites, or alternatively you can beat them using a hand-held mixer until stiff peaks form and then fold them into the mixture. Beating them first will give you a fluffier cake.
6. Pour batter into cake pans and spread evenly. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to COOL COMPLETELY.
For the Strawberry Filling:
1. Wash and slice the fresh strawberries and place into a bowl
2. Pour sugar over strawberries and stir until all are evenly coated. Let sit at least 30 minutes.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, add strawberries and stir until mixture just begins to boil. Turn heat to low.
4. In a small bowl, take some of the juice from the strawberries and add the cornstarch. Using a whisk or fork, combine until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to the strawberries and stir. Once thick, remove from heat to let cool completely.
For the Whipped Cream:
1. In a stand mixer on medium-high speed, add the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks form.
To Assemble:
1. Once cakes are completely cool, place one cake layer on a stand and add half of the whipped cream to cover the top.
2. Slice second cake layer in half so that you have two thinner cake layers. Place one cake layer on top of whipped cream layer. Pour the strawberry mixture or can of strawberry pie filling on top of cake. Place the last cake layer on top and pour the rest of the whipped cream over the last layer.
3. Place in the refrigerator for at least one hour before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
