Beautiful three layer strawberry cream cake for the special occasion. Rich pound cake, cut into three layers, filled with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and strawberry puree. Topped with whipped cream and strawberries.
My dad has been looking for an excuse to make this cake since he first saw it in Cook’s Illustrated (May/June 2006). With Mother’s Day two weeks away and my brother John’s birthday (never mind that John lives in Oklahoma and we in California), Dad finally had the motivation he needed.
Cook’s Illustrated mentions in its article that this is a “special occasion” cake, and it is. The cake is a lot more complicated than our usual strawberry shortcake, but perhaps better suited to a formal occasion.
Strawberry cream cake
ingredients
- cake
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1 1/4 cups cake flour
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1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup of sugar
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5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
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6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
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2 tbsp water
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- strawberry filling
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2 pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 liters), washed, dried and hulled
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4-6 tbsp sugar
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pinch of salt
- whipped cream
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8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
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1/2 cup sugar
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/8 teaspoon salt
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2 cups cream
special equipment
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blender
method
Make the cake
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Prepare the oven and cake pan:
Set the oven rack to the lower middle position. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9″ x 2″ round cake pan or 9″ springform pan and line with parchment paper.
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Make cake batter:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 Tbsp of the sugar by hand in the mixing bowl. Whisk together 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (keeping the whites), butter, water and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
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beat egg whites:
In a separate bowl, use an electronic mixer to beat the remaining 3 egg whites on medium-low speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. With the machine running, gradually add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds.
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Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter:
Stir in a third of the whites into the batter to lighten it. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold into the batter until no white streaks remain.
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Bake:
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 325F for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a greased wire rack; Peel off parchment and discard. turn cake over again; cool completely, about 2 hours. It helps to freeze the cake after it cools so it’s easier to slice horizontally in later steps.
strawberry filling
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Macerate berries in sugar, then puree:
Halve and keep 24 of the prettiest berries. Slice or quarter remaining berries; Combine with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet the berries are) in a medium bowl and set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The sugar macerates the strawberries, softening them and creating liquid.
Strain and reserve the berry juices (you should have about 1/2 cup). Put the strawberries in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher; put aside.
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Make syrup with strained strawberry juices:
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer the reserved juices, until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over the macerated berries, add a pinch of salt and mix. Set aside until the cake has cooled.
whipped cream
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Prepare whipped cream and cream cheese:
When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in a slow, steady stream; When the mixture is almost completely combined, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks, another 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed (you should be about 4 1/2 cups to have).
Assemble the cake
Using a large serrated knife, cut the cake into three even layers. Place the bottom layer on a round cardboard or pie plate and place a ring of 12-20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends out, around the perimeter of the pie layer.
Pour 1/2 of the pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) into the center, then spread to cover each exposed cake. Gently spread about a third of the whipping cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over the berry layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border from the edge.
Place the middle cake layer on top and press down lightly (the layer of whipped cream should be flush with the edge of the cake). Repeat with 12-20 more strawberry halves, the remaining berry mixture, and half the remaining whipped cream; Press down the last layer of cake lightly.
Spread remaining whipped cream on top; Decorate with the remaining sliced strawberries.
Serve immediately or chill. As the whipping cream warms to room temperature, it will be more difficult to keep it stable while slicing.
