Heavenly Strawberry Cake
This cake is a flavor show stopper.
One that will leave your dinner guests swooning.
This recipe takes a bit of time, but it is worth every minute.
Heavenly Strawberry Cake
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE LAYER CAKE:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/4 cup cream, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups of fresh strawberries, chopped
FOR THE SIMPLE SYRUP:
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM:
1 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
16 oz powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped and drained on paper towels
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease and flour the pans , tapping out the excess.
For the cake batter: In a large bowl, beat the shortening, butter, sugar blending until fluffy. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the milk, buttermilk, cream, and vanilla. In three additions, add the flour mixture alternatively with milk mixture the creamed sugar mixture. Begin with the flour and end with the flour, scraping bottom and sides of bowl after each addition. Blend evenly, but do not overmix.
Using a whisk or hand mixer, beat the egg white until they hold a peak. Using a rubber spatula gently fold the whipped egg whites into the cake batter.
Carefully fold in chopped strawberries.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Gently tap pans on counter to level out batter. Bake 22-26 minutes, or until cake tester into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be a golden color.
Cool cake in the pans on wire rack for 15-20 minutes, then transfer the cake to wire rack and allow to finish cooling completely.
Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of hot water to create a simple syrup. Brush the cake layers with the simple syrup while on the wire racks. This is what makes the cake so moist, so yes, use it all.
When cake layers are cool, if not frosting immediately, wrap layers with plastic wrap tightly and place in fridge.
When ready to frost, prepare the buttercream.
For the Buttercream: In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar in increments, scraping the bottom and sides of bowl. Add vanilla. Mix well. Gently fold in strawberries that had been draining on paper towels. Place in fridge 20-30 minutes before frosting the cake to firm, careful not the leave too long or it will become too hard.
Place the first layer on a cake plate and spread with thin layer of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers and front entire cake! Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!
