In Cookie Haven: Strawberry Shortcake

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Strawberry Shortcake

My daughter wanted a strawberry cake (she actually wanted a Pooh bear cake - difficulty 100* ) for her 10th birthday and this was what I made.

Happy birthday, Eunice!! Be happy and most importantly, know God.

The cake within is the The Perfect White Cake Recipe, and the frosting the Swiss meringue butter cream that I added 1/2 cup of diced fresh strawberries. The frosting was so delicious. It tasted just like strawberries with cream. Yum!!

The Perfect White Cake

Make two 6" round cakes

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup milk at room temperature
6 large egg whites at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 6-inch cake pans.
Make sure milk and eggs are at room temperature.
Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into medium bowl and mix with fork until blended.
Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter, cut into cubes and continue beating on low for about 1-2 minutes.
Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat for about 1 minute.
Pour batter evenly between two prepared cake pans.
Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
Allow cake to cool to room temperature.

Swiss Meringue Butter Cream
(adapted from Martha Stewart cupcakes)

Ingredients

5 large egg whites
210g sugar
Pinch of salt
454g unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of diced strawberries

Directions:

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips)
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep butter cream at room temperature if using the same day.
I took half of the butter cream and added the 1/2 cup of diced strawberries to it. Reserve the other half of the butter cream to frost the outside of the cake.
(Optional) To tint butter cream, reserve some for toning down the color, if necessary. Add gel-paste food color, a drop at a time (or use the toothpick or skewer to add food color a dab at a time) to the remaining butter cream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use a paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is achieved. Avoid adding too much food color too soon, as the hue will intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing in some reserved untinted butter cream.