Strawberry Cream Cake.

Yesterday, we had a small reception at work for a recently married staff member. At the request of some co-workers, I baked two cakes: a strawberry cream cake and a chocolate cake with espresso caramel frosting.

I had a little trouble choosing recipes. I wanted the finished cakes to be fancier than average, but I didn't want them to be technically difficult or extremely time consuming. I knew I wanted to use strawberries; they've been on sale for weeks, and they're always popular and visually appealing.

Usually i'm against trying new recipes for parties, but I make exceptions for things in Cook's Illustrated. I've had this recipe mentally bookmarked since 2006. It's a simple cake filled with strawberries and a whipped cream/cream cheese mixture. The cake was good: light and spongy with enough structure to slice and move easily.

I built my cake inside of a setting ring to keep everything neat. I slightly over-whipped my filling, which made it difficult to spread over the chopped strawberries. It was much easier to pipe the filling and smooth it with a spatula. I garnished the cake with some melted white chocolate. I've posted a few more notes at the end of the recipe.

This cake was long gone before the chocolate one. It reminds me of my favorite trifle recipe, and I'll probably find an excuse to make it again soon.

Strawberry Cream Cake
from Cook's Illustrated

Cake
1 1/4 cups cake flour (5 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup sugar (7 ounces)
5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling
2 pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed
4–6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Kirsch
Pinch table salt

Whipped Cream
8 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups heavy cream

1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla; whisk until smooth.

2. In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten; add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.

3. FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). In workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, give macerated berries five 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices and Kirsch until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.

4. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).

5. TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries. Serve, or chill for up to 4 hours.

(Notes: don't underwhip or overfold the egg whites, or your cake may end up flat and dense. The cake is easiest to slice when it's well chilled, and thicker slices will hold together better. Next time I might add a little gelatin to the whipped cream mix. I substituted rum for kirsh, and next time I might throw in a little almond extract. The sponge cake can be wrapped and frozen-just let it defrost on a counter for 2 hours, unwrapped, before using.)

Perfect Party Cake.

I recently joined The Daring Bakers, a group of bloggers who agree to bake a chosen recipe each month. This month, the challenge was Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake from Baking From my Home to Yours. Since i'd made the cake before, I decided to challenge myself with a flavor variation.

This cake lends itself to experimentation; the buttercream recipe is extremely forgiving and the cake layers are sturdy enough to slice and move easily. I flavored my cake layers with almond extract and orange zest and substituted the lemon juice in the buttercream for orange juice. I toasted some sliced almonds for the topping to keep with the orange/almond theme.

The complicated part of this cake was the filling. Instead of the listed buttercream/jam filling, I decided to substitute Sherry Yard's Creme Chiboust recipe from The Secrets of Baking. Creme Chiboust is a pastry cream that's usually lightened with whipped cream or beaten egg whites and gelatin.

I flavored my pastry cream with vanilla beans and orange zest. After incorporating the egg whites I built the cake in a setting ring lined with cake ribbon/transfer sheets. The unchilled filling is too loose to use without a ring. The filling made my cake unbelievably tall- it took the entire buttercream recipe just to frost the top and sides.

When I unmolded the cake to frost it, I was convinced it would fall apart or have big chunks of gelatin in it. I shouldn't have worried so much- it set perfectly and made frosting the outside easy. I think I this was the fastest, neatest frosting job i've ever done! I the cake for a small party and people enjoyed it. It tasted like a light, fluffy burnt almond torte.

Perfect Party Cake
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my Home to Yours.

For the Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Strawberry Trifle

There are moments when baking is extremely satisfying, and in the case of this strawberry trifle that moment was not when I unveiled it at the dinner party. It was the moment when, having assembled the trifle and put it in the refrigerator, I picked up the bowl of leftover angel-food cake and proceeded to wipe out and eat the contents of the whipped cream and berry covered mixing bowls and utensils that had accumulated on the counter.

I suppose that belongs on the list of indulgent culinary behaviors that are slightly discouraged: licking spatulas, eating raw cookie dough, picking at streusel and the edges of pie crusts, not giving things enough time to cool, etc. It is hard to resist leftover cake, cream, and macerated berries.

Almost everything about this trifle is indulgent. I got the recipe from my neighbor Carol who used to make it every year for her Christmas Eve parties. I've made it for several dinner parties where it usually leads to rave reviews and occasionally stomachaches. This was definitely the case last night- we were already stuffed on milk chocolate-guinness ice cream before the trifle made it out of the fridge.

This is a great recipe for summer that's relatively simple in terms of ingredients and process. The recipe itself is mostly a guideline; I always play around with the amounts of almond or vanilla extracts I use, and I substitute different berries or cake. Giant Eagle had surprisingly good berries on sale this week, so I didn't have any problems.

Carol's Strawberry Trifle
Note: this recipe is pretty loosely adapted because I lost my original copy. I rarely measure anything exactly, and it comes out differently almost every time!

1 large, store-bought angel food cake (about 10 inches, or 2 smaller ones), cut or torn into cubes
3 pints strawberries (I usually use two quarts), sliced or quartered
1.5 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
almond extract
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 pint whipping cream, chilled
vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, mix the strawberries with the granulated sugar and some almond extract. Set aside to macerate.

2. Beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 3/4 cup powdered sugar until smooth*. In a separate bowl, beat the whipped cream, adding 3/4 cup powdered sugar and some vanilla extract when it begins to look almost done (firm peaks). Fold the whipped cream gently into the cream cheese mixture.

3. Layer the ingredients in a large bowl or trifle dish, starting with cake, followed by strawberries, then cream. You should be able to make 3 layers. The trifle is best chilled for a while before serving.

*the cream cheese mixture can be lumpy if your ingredients are too cold. You can use a food processor if this is a problem.

Banana Cake and Lemon Almond Torta

One of the best parts of making this Banana Cake from last week's LA Times was eating the cake scraps. The recipe comes from Clementine, a bakery/cafe in Century City. Mom and I had lunch there today. I love their sandwiches and deli salads, but their baked goods can be hit or miss.

My family sets the bar pretty high for pastries. This week I made:

Strawberry tarts with vanilla pastry cream

White nectarines with toasted almonds and custard

Almond biscotti

Glazed buttermilk cookies

Almond and nectarine cakes

Banana bread (twice)

Banana cake with cream cheese frosting

Almond crescents with burnt butter icing

Crepes with peaches and blueberry sauce

Lemon almond torta

I love spoiling my family. It's so much more fun to bake when you have a house full of people to feed.

The Lemon Almond Torta is a recipe from The Traveler's Lunchbox. The lemon curd topping is quite good- next time i'd spread it more evenly though. My large dollops made the cake lumpy.