Make Delicious Summer Time Dessert!
As with most recipes this time of year, I always lighten up what I cook and serve to my family and friends. The idea of a heavy or overly sweet dessert really just make my teeth ache....Grilling beautiful seafood or steaks, fresh crisp salads and ice cold iced tea should be followed by something scrumptious and flavorful, but light on the palate. This dessert does just that! Enough sweetness so you definitely know it's dessert, if the way it's decorated didn't tell you that, but it also takes advantage of a beautiful bounty of late summer strawberries. By the way, there is a little surprise inside!
Strawberry Filled Cake
Serves 12
Total time: 2 hours and 10 minutes
Ingredients
Layer Cakes
1 cup (8 oz.) salted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated
3 cups (about 12 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 (16-oz.) containers fresh strawberries
Whipped Topping
1 (8-oz.) container mascarpone cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Preparation
Layer Cakes
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare the cake pans with shortening and flour. 2 (9-inch) round by 2-inch-deep cake pans. Beat the butter with a heavy-duty stand mixer at medium speed until fluffy and then gradually adding the sugar until well beaten. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
Beat the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into batter. Fold in remaining egg whites in 2 batches. Doing it this way will help keep the volume of the whipped egg whites making a lighter cake. Spoon the batter into prepared cake pans.
Bake in preheated oven until your cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 28 to 32 minutes. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on wire rack for an additional 1 hour.
Meanwhile, cut a thin slice from the stem end of each of 20 to 25 whole strawberries to form a flat base that allows them to sit upright. Set strawberries aside.
Whipped Frosting
Gently stir together the mascarpone cheese and 1/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl. In another bowl, beat whipping cream and vanilla and almond extracts with an electric mixer at medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium-high and slowly add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the whipped cream mixture into cheese mixture. Gently fold in remaining whipped cream mixture in 2 batches, again enabling a lighter, fluffier mixture.
First Layer and Strawberries
Place 1 cooled cake layer, flat side up, on a cake plate or serving platter. Spread 3/4 cup of the frosting evenly over the top of the cake. Working from the outer edge of the cake towards the middle in a close circular pattern, place the whole prepared strawberries, flat base side down and pointed tops up, on top of frosted bottom layer.
Spoon about 1 1/2 cups frosting into a piping bag with a medium sized (#12) round tip or ziplock plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner to make a small hole. Pipe frosting between strawberries, filling in spaces completely. Gently spread about 3/4 cup of the frosting on top of berries.
Place the second cake layer on top of strawberries. Finish icing the cake as evenly as possible and then go back over the entire cake with a bakers blade, or dough scraper. The idea is make sure that the final frosting is as smooth and even as possible.
Decorating
Remove the green leaves from all of the strawberries except one perfect large strawberry. Vertically slice the remaining strawberries in thirds. Separate and size the strawberries by outside and inside slices. Drain the sliced strawberries on a multi layered (folded) paper towels to absorb all the juices that are running off. If this step is skipped, juice from the strawberries will run down and all over you cake making it looks quite unappetizing and messy. After making sure the strawberries have stopped exuding juices, start the decorating process.
Using the best matched for size outside slices, press them into the cake creating a collar of sorts around the bottom of the cake with the tops of the strawberries facing up. If needed, use a dab of frosting on the back of each slice to make them adhere.
Moving on to the top....again, using similarly sized strawberry slices, larger slices first, start on the outside edge of the cake top by laying down the slices side by side with the tops of the strawberries facing out. Do this until you have gone completely around the cake.
Start your next circle of strawberries with the next size down selected in the same fashion as above but placing the tops of the strawberry tops between the two slices below it. Make sure the second layer of strawberries are only about half way up on top of the first layer of berries creating layers of strawberries with differing lengths.
Continue doing this until you have filled the top of the cake with strawberry slices. Use the image of the cake above as a guide. Finally place that one large perfect strawberry with its green leaved top in the center.
If your strawberries are all about the same size....no worries at all, just use them as directed above.
Plating/Presentation
Chill for at least two hours before serving. I would bring the entire cake out to the table where your guests can see your beautiful work. Slice the cake laying it on its side on the dessert plate. This will do two things; make it easier for your guests to eat and maintains the integrity and beauty of the cake as they eat it without having it tumble over. Enjoy!
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Decorating
Remove the green leaves from all of the strawberries except one perfect large strawberry. Vertically slice the remaining strawberries in thirds. Separate and size the strawberries by outside and inside slices. Drain the sliced strawberries on a multi layered (folded) paper towels to absorb all the juices that are running off. If this step is skipped, juice from the strawberries will run down and all over you cake making it looks quite unappetizing and messy. After making sure the strawberries have stopped exuding juices, start the decorating process.
Using the best matched for size outside slices, press them into the cake creating a collar of sorts around the bottom of the cake with the tops of the strawberries facing up. If needed, use a dab of frosting on the back of each slice to make them adhere.
Moving on to the top....again, using similarly sized strawberry slices, larger slices first, start on the outside edge of the cake top by laying down the slices side by side with the tops of the strawberries facing out. Do this until you have gone completely around the cake.
Start your next circle of strawberries with the next size down selected in the same fashion as above but placing the tops of the strawberry tops between the two slices below it. Make sure the second layer of strawberries are only about half way up on top of the first layer of berries creating layers of strawberries with differing lengths.
Continue doing this until you have filled the top of the cake with strawberry slices. Use the image of the cake above as a guide. Finally place that one large perfect strawberry with its green leaved top in the center.
If your strawberries are all about the same size....no worries at all, just use them as directed above.
Plating/Presentation
Chill for at least two hours before serving. I would bring the entire cake out to the table where your guests can see your beautiful work. Slice the cake laying it on its side on the dessert plate. This will do two things; make it easier for your guests to eat and maintains the integrity and beauty of the cake as they eat it without having it tumble over. Enjoy!
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