Strawberry Sweetness

The strawberries are so juicy-delicious from California right now. I can’t get enough. Here a couple of my new favorite recipes.

Strawberry Shots

Strawberries        Sugar        small bowl of water      alcohol      lime wedges

• Hollow out a strawberry with a small spoon.
• Dip in water, then sugar.
• Add booze & garnish with lime.

Vodka or tequila would work, or for a snazzy shot, mix equal parts Frangelico hazelnut liqueur and vodka. Another tasty treat would be

 

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting

Frosting:
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, room temp    1 c butter, room temp   4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c seedless strawberry jam      3/4 c chilled heavy whipping cream

Cake:
3 c cake flour    3/4 tsp salt      1/2 tsp baking powder      1/2 tsp baking soda   3 c sugar
1 c butter, room temp      7 large eggs      2 T vanilla extract      1 c sour cream
6 T plus 1/3 c seedless strawberry jam

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

Directions:

• For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth. You’ll probably want to use an electric mixer for this so you don’t end up with lumps.
• Stop every now and then to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Beat in sugar, then jam. Beat cream in a separate, chilled, bowl until peaks form.
• Fold whipped cream into frosting.
• Cover; chill for a couple of hours until it’s firm enough to spread.

Cake:

• For the cake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides.
• 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 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
• Remove 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. (You may even want to refrigerate them for a couple of hours to make this next step easier.)
• Using a serrated knife, divide each layer in half horizontally. Place one half, cake side down, on a cake plate.
• Spread 2 T of strawberry jam over the cake, then spread 3/4 c 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.
• Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down.
• Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, then frost with remaining frosting.
• Stir remaining jam to loosen, then spoon teaspoonfuls onto the top and sides of the cake. Use the back of a spoon to swirl jam decoratively into the frosting.

 

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