A Post From My Inner Weakness

I know that lately I've been all, la la la, my kids aren't eating any sugar for a year and stuff.  But truth be told, Tootsie never really grasped the idea to begin with so she was kicked out of the contest early on, and Spanky was caught cheating about ten thousand too many times so he's out too.  At this point, there remains only one in the game.  He is awesome and stoic and quite frankly, the only one of my children I can trust anyway.  So I will support him and cheer him on.  But I have fallen.  OH DEAR GRACIOUS I have fallen.  I don't know what has gotten in to me but I've been making the most evil of desserts lately.  And consuming them.  In front of my son who isn't eating any sugar for a year.  Beause my heart is only slightly larger than a raisin.

Exhibit A: Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting

This is the most amazing cake recipe I've ever tried.  And I don't mess around when it comes to cake...

Cake

3 cups cake flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

7 large eggs

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

6 Tablespoons plus 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam

2 1/4 lbs strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 6 cups), divided

Strawberry Frosting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

5 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

3/4 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, pureed in food processor

2-3 teaspoons lime juice

To make the cake:

1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides. (I used 10″ cheesecake pans – aka springform pans – ) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add sour cream, and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in three additions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter into prepared pans.  Bake cake 52-60 minutes (mine was done after about 53 minutes).

2) Now make the frosting:

With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth.  Add the strawberries.  Mix well.  Add lime juice a bit at a time until you reach desired consistency.  Store in the refrigerator until it’s time to frost the cake.

  3) Remove cake from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pans, then turn cakes out onto a rack to cool completely. I threw the two cake layers in the freezer for about an hour to make the cake assembly easier, but you don't necessarily need to do that.

 4) Using a serrated knife, divide each layer in half horizontally. Place one half, cake side down, on a cake plate.

      5) Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam over the cake, then spread a thicker layer of the frosting over the jam. Arrange 3/4 c of the sliced strawberries on top of the frosting in a single layer. Repeat two more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and strawberries.

            6) Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down (I used a bottom piece so that the top would be super flat). Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, then frost with remaining frosting. This recipe makes a very big 4-layer cake that will feed a lot of people. It says it serves 12 people but I would say more like 16-18 at least.  It was HUGE!