Cake #5 - Strawberry Country Cake

This recipe is a major reason I started this cake challenge.  I had this cake at a work-related baby shower in 2003.  I created a cookbook for the expectant parents with recipes of all the dishes served at the shower, and I periodically remember this yummy cake, read the recipe, and then don’t make it.  I had always felt like if I was making a cake (which I used to only do four or five times a year) then I wanted a cake I knew how to make, I knew would turn out right, and was one of my favorites I had been craving.  I tended to avoid recipes with whipped cream as a frosting (not sure why) and I knew my kids didn’t think cake and fruit should be served together.  So year after year I didn’t make this cake.  I realized that the only way to take on some of these recipes I was interested in, but hadn’t been willing to try, was to make more cake.  My master plan worked, and I have to say, this cake is really delicious!  I will be making it again.

I think one of my reservations about the cake was that I didn’t think the whipped cream as frosting would last very well.  It lasted better than I expected, but it is a good cake to serve when most of it will be eaten right away – or the next morning, maybe, with coffee. 

Another quirky aspect of the recipe is that it makes two cakes, but then gives a recipe for frosting only one of them.  Since I was serving it with the Red Devil Chocolate Cake, I only made up one of the two cakes and put the other cake in the freezer. 

Strawberry Country Cake

 ¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks) at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 extra-large eggs at room temperature (or 4 large eggs plus one egg white)

¾ cup sour cream at room temperature

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon grated orange zest

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling for EACH cake:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (1/2 pint) chilled

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

2.       Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix well.  Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda.  On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

3.       Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops with a spatula and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature.

4.       To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream by hand or in a mixer until firm; add the sugar and vanilla.  Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife.  Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with half of the whipped cream, and scatter with sliced strawberries.  Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream.  Decorate with strawberries.

From Barefoot Contessa Parties! By Ina Garten