This cake is actually so good though. Extremely light and fluffy inside (that's from beating the egg so much), and the whipped cream frosting tastes exactly like, well, whipped cream! It tastes exactly like strawberry shortcake. I was even able to write (myself) happy birthday on the cake by adding a drop of red food dye to the remaining frosting I had (which I knew would turn it pink), and then writing happy birthday! So it's all whipped cream frosting! Also note that it is really important to sift the flour. I never follow that instruction and just whisk it and I had little chunks of flour on top of not only my batter once I poured it into the cake pans, but once I baked it the flour was still there, so make sure you sift that flour! And make sure your cakes are completely cool before frosting. I always make my cakes in the morning, just leave them there to cool for at least 2 hours usually, then make the frosting and it takes no time and you can really be sure your cakes are cool, so I suggest that. Happy summer!
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Cake:
- 1½ cups cake flour
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1¼ cups sugar
Frosting:
- 1 tsp. gelatin
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9” cake pans with nonstick cooking spray, then place a parchment round in the pan, then spray the parchment round with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and the salt. It is very important that these ingredients are well sifted. In a small saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. In an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until pale yellow and doubled in size, about 5 minutes. While still beating, pour in the hot milk mixture. Stop beating and fold in the flour mixture by hand until no bits of flour remain.
Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back after you touch it with your finger. Set aside to cool for about 1 hour before frosting.
Make the frosting: In a medium-large heatproof bowl, whisk together the gelatin and ¼ cup of the heavy cream. Let it sit for 5 minutes to soften. Set a small pot of water over low heat just until it simmers. Place the bowl with the gelatin mixture over the pot of water and whisk until the gelatin completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. In the meantime, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until slightly thickened. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat on high until stiff peaks form and it resembles shaving cream. Fold ½ cup of the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture, then fold in the rest.
Assemble the cake: Rinse and stem ¾ of the strawberries and cut into slices. Place one cake layer face down on a cake stand. Arrange the cut-up strawberries in two layers on the cake layer, filling up the whole layer. Frost with a ½-inch thick layer of frosting on top. Place the next cake layer on top and frost on top and around the sides of the cake. Top with the rest of the berries for decoration, if desired. Store in the refrigerator.