Strawberry & Cream Cakes
Is there anything more quintessential summer than strawberries? Those bright, scarlet berries dusted with seeds like little, adorable freckles. When I was a girl, I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake. At about five, I shortcaked ALL the things. Strawberry Shortcake bedspread, pillows, matching upholstered chairs. My favorite dress at the time was a full skirted, seersucker red and white striped affair with a white lace bodice. You can guess why.
If I could have bathed in Strawberry Shortcake doll scent, I probably would have.
My passion for Strawberry Shortcake dolls may have waned but my obsession with strawberries remains. If you ask me to name foods I'd want on a deserted island in order to keep my sanity and not start licking coconuts, strawberries always makes the top five. Those little berries are amazing, stuffed with antioxidants and low in sugar. I've never met a person who didn't love strawberries.
Except for the people I gave birth to. But those kids are definitely weirdos.
This recipe is like taking an enormous, satisfying bite of strawberry shortcake. It begins as an almond cake, plump and soft and then cut into thin layers and wedged with the best frosting ever. Think I'm exaggerating? Fine. You try it then.
Call me when you get to the bottom of the bowl with your tongue and you're shedding tears of desperation.
Freeze dried strawberries make this strawberry buttercream pop with pretty color and fantastic flavor. Can't imagine where on earth you might get freeze dried strawberries? Oh, I have a plan. Let's go to this little place called Trader Joe's.
I'm pretty sure I left my shopping list there, wedged into the fearless flyer, when I handed over half my bank account.
This almond cake is what all cake should be. Full of the rich taste of butter and almonds, tempered by sweetness.
Yep. You're gonna be licking that beater. It's inevitable.
While you attempt to convince yourself not to and then give in anyway, let me show you a little baker's trick.
See that piece of parchment paper? I buy them pre-cut at a kitchen supply store. When I want to insert them into a square pan, I do this.
Cut each corner just a few inches towards the center.
Guess what happens when you put it in the pan?
Game changer, huh? Now you can grease and flour and never worry about a gap in the parchment paper. You got that shit covered, yo.
Before you deposit all that batter into the pan, make sure you fold in those egg whites. If you want to whip your whites, I'd advise the food processor. I know- not your first choice, right? But your mixer is currently being used and the food processor can handle this. I promise.
That cake is so dreamy looking it'll put Frankie Valli to shame. Whoever the hell he is.
While that beauty is baking, you can pulse your freeze dried strawberries and get ready for frosting. Squeee! The best part.
This is a traditional buttercream and it whips up heavy and thick. Don't worry. I'll give you a minute to contemplate the gorgeousness.
Next, we come to the tricky part. You need to cut the cake. Once it's cool, I actually freeze it before I cut it. This makes the cake play nice by preventing it from getting too crumbly. Cut it into sections and then slice each section into three thin slices.
Slather on the butter cream- don't be stingy! Nobody likes stingy. This is cake, god damn it. It's supposed to be decadent. Go big or go suck it. Or something like that.
Before we go drool over our final product, let's give it some flair. A friend of mine gave me this little baby and I took it for a test drive on these petite cakes. I'm thinking this gadget is gonna change my life. I made roses. And I'm still not even sure HOW it happened. There was frosting and a pump and then a perfect little pink rose came spitting out the end. I'm still in shock over how easy it was. Why did I not have one of these before? And what the hell else am I missing out on? Grab your divine new decorator below.
I also decided to make some strawberry roses. These look difficult but they're not. Except if you cut towards yourself like I do. Then you might walk away missing some fingers.
So don't do that. Don't be like Kaz.
I added my strawberry rose but I still wasn't satisfied. I had to get all cutesy. Because it's strawberry shortcake and I just can't leave well enough alone. So I cut some letter "s" shapes out of the leftover fruit with my nifty cookie cutters. These things are kind of the boss. I've used them for all sorts of stuff from baking to lunches, pie crust to meringue. They're stainless steel so they last forever.
Except if you keep losing them down the garbage disposal. Oops.
You can pick up a set for yourself here.
Ateco 26 Piece Alphabet Cutter Set
Now we assemble. Slice, frost. Frost some more. Garnish. Ta-da! Enjoy these petite slices of strawberry and cream cake and keep dreaming of summer.
It's almost here.
Strawberry & Cream Cakes
For the cake
(from Taste of Izzy Ts):
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 egg whites (3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons of a carton of egg whites)
For the frosting
(adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction):
1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
salt, to taste
Directions:
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream the butter for about 2 minutes until it is white in appearance. Add the sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, combine the milk and almond extract. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture alternately with the milk and almond extract.
Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form peaks. Add the stiffly beaten eggs to the cake batter. Fold the egg whites in gently. Do not over mix at this point. If you do, your cake will become more dense.
Grease and flour 9x11 cake pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan.
Bake the cake at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes or until the top bounces back when you touch it.
Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges and remove them from the pans to a wire rack, allowing them to cool completely. Transfer to freezer before cutting.
Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup. Set aside. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy - about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, strawberry powder, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners' sugar if frosting is too thin or 1 more Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Slice almond cake into three layers, frosting each.
For a tutorial on how to make strawberry roses, see here:
http://ashandcrafts.com/strawberry-roses/