Written for Just Baking on the Well Fed Network
I know you all have been there. You are standing in the checkout lane of a grocery store and a magazine photo catches your eye. Maybe it is one with the current celebrity gossip. Maybe you are more of the House and Garden type and spot a cover with a gorgeous room makeover. If you are like me, it is the food magazines that are the most tempting. I will see a cover photo of something delectable and fight with myself not to pick up the magazine to purchase it.
A few weeks ago my friend Kathy called with a request. She had purchased a copy of Family Circle magazine while she was at the grocery store simply because on the front cover was a photo of a cake that was entirely to tempting to go without. Her request, since she claims to not be a baker, was for me to make this dessert. Several days later she stopped by with the recipe including the photo and I could tell right away why her taste buds were interested in having a bite of this treat. Before me was a four layer white cake stacked with cream and strawberries in the middle. Since I love strawberries in almost any form, I told her I was up to the task.
This cake makes a beautiful presentation. The layer after layer of summer goodness is just too good to pass up. I was surprised at how mild the flavor was though. I am a sweet and sugary sweets girl, and this cake was not nearly as sweet as I would have liked. Kathy, my family and some other neighbors loved the cake, so I would call it a hit.
Berries ‘n’ Cream Cake
Delicious cake perfect for spring or any parties.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs separated
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 quarts strawberries rinsed
- 1/4 cup strawberry jelly melted
- Filling:
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 1 package 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
Directions
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Heat oven to 325° F. Coat the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line with waxed paper; coat paper. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In second bowl, whisk oil, egg yolks, 1/2 cup cold water, vanilla and lemon juice. Let sit 3 minutes to thicken, then stir slightly thickened oil mixture into flour mixture until blended. Set aside.
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In large, clean bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed, until foamy. Increase speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Fold one-third of the whites into flour mixture; then fold in remaining whites.
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Divide batter between prepared pans, gently smoothing tops.
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Bake cakes at 325° F for 30 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly pressed. Run a thin knife around edge of pans to release cakes. Invert cakes onto racks; tap to release from pans. Remove waxed paper; return to right-side up. Let cakes cool completely.
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Slice one of the cake layers in half. Repeat with second layer, for a total of 4 layers.
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Slice 6 cups of the berries and toss in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of the melted jelly. Place one cake layer on pedestal. Top with 1-1/4 cups Filling (recipe follows). Layer with 3/4 cup of the sliced berries. Repeat twice more, then top with final cake layer. Cut remaining berries in half. Toss with remaining 2 Tablespoons jelly. Spread remaining Filling on top of cake. Top with strawberries and serve.
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7.Berries ‘N’ Cream Filling: Once cakes have cooled, combine gelatin and 2 tablespoons cool water in a bowl. Let stand 3 minutes. Microwave on HIGH for 15 seconds or until melted. Stir until smooth and then cool slightly.
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Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add cream; continue to beat until very foamy. While beating, add gelatin in a thin stream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Use immediately to fill layers of cake; do not prepare ahead of time.
This indeed is a beautiful cake! The celebrity gossip is always what catches my eye. 😉
kristen, the fact that this cake <em>wasn’t</em> sweet enough for you being a sugary sweet kinda girl probably means it would have been perfectly sweet for me! it looks scrumptious. right up my alley, sweet… but not <em>too</em> sweet!
I like the use of the cream cheese for the cream filling.
Oh, the cake just can’t be more beautiful!!!!
I live in Strawberry country! In fact, on Sunday I ventured out to one of our multiple Farmer’s markets and picked up some strawberries along with some blueberries, raspberries and ollieberries.
They were "berry, berry good!" (As this cake looks, too….)
Ooooh, it looks like a giant strawberry shortcake! My husband would love this; I’ll share the recipe with him.
Berries and Cream layered in cake!! That is sinful and delicious:)
How pretty is that cake?! Your cake stand is beautiful as well.
You just can’t go wrong with a cake like that. Classic, beautiful and I’m sure delicious.
Okay that cake is gorgeous.. but I can’t help to think it could be made even more gorgeous – picture this.. chocolate cake layers.. Mmmmmmmmm
See? Leave it to me to chocolatize anything. heee!
You’re such a nice friend for making that for her! =)
xoxo
What a beautiful cake, Kristen! I’ll be craving that too, you bet!
Looks gorgeous! I am a trashy trashy gossip rag checkout line reader. It has to be super trashy, like national enquirer, none of that US weekly crap.
It is attractive isn’t it and it photographs well too. Great job Kristen.
Mmmmmmmm…. that does look good! I am of the opinion, however, that anything is good with lots of strawberries!
I can see why your friend wanted you to make this cake! It’s gorgeous!
Perfection!
I bet it was even better the second day~ that’s how my strawberry shortcakes always are. Messy and falling down… but yummy!
Kirsten, funny how we both have friends who come to us with recipes hoping for us to fulfill their cake fantasies. I am all for it because it is so much fun to bake for someone.
Ohmygosh. Yum! I would totally mess it up, but it sure is lovely!
Kristen, this cake is beautiful. A perfect way to use up the peak of the season’s strawberries!
Saw that cover, too. What a great cake. Yours looks even better than the cover. Next time, add some extra sugar to the cake and whipped cream, too. Yummy!
OMG. That looks SO GOOD!! Thanks for the recipe!
How lovely! This is for sure the looker of any party! And I bet it tasted great too!
Oh why did you have to tempt me with this and then post the calorie count…evil!!!
Joking aside: great job, this is just gorgeous!
I can totally relate to this post. One more than one occasion, I’ve given up my spot in the check-out line to go seek out all the ingredients listed on the cover of some magazine I spotted just as I was getting ready to pay. Woman’s World has had a few good ones and so has Family Circle. In fact, Family Circle had an interesting looking ice cream cake that had a border of sliced ice cream sandwiches. I *almost* gave up my spot in line to go get the ice cream sandwiches, but I managed to avoid temptation.
I am so going to make this (although I may cheat and buy a box mix for my cake! LOL!) someday! I tried to make something similar and stupidly used frozen berries…let’s just say the cake was a soggy mess about 2 hours later!
gorgeous! it sounds absolutely amazing, and i love that you included the nutritional information.
This is LOVELY!! So nice and summery. I can’t get enough strawberries, so keep it up! 🙂
Wow!!!! If anything was made in heaven this recipe was. It has all my favourite ingredients!! Excellent find!!