Gâteau aux fraises

The average Friday and Saturday of a college student probably doesn't involve baking away in the dorm, but my weekend was just that. I spent my Friday evening baking and my Saturday afternoon frosting away. The smell of fresh strawberries was a sweet welcome every time I stepped back in the room from my sojourn to the dorm kitchen. Dorm baking is always an adventure, but this cake was well worth the effort. Strawberry cake and cream cheese frosting topped with fresh strawberries can make any day better. Yet again, Amy Lucas came to my rescue and took these beautiful pictures of the cake!

Ingredients

Photo by Amy Lucas

• 1 cup of strawberry purée (made from approximately 16-24 oz of fresh strawberries and 2 tsp of sugar)
• 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 6 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour (all purpose works as well)
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine (softened)
• red food coloring

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350. Prepare 3 6-inch round pans or 2 8 or 9-inch round pans. (I used 3 6-inch pans. I didn't use the third layer for the cake in the picture because I wanted to make a smaller, separate one.)
2. Make the strawberry purée first. Dice and blend strawberries until you have approximately 1 cup of purée. Stir in 2 tsp of sugar.
3. Add milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Mix with a fork until all ingredients are well blended.
4. Slowly incorporate the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a mixer to be certain that everything is well incorporated. Add the softened butter and continue to mix. 
5. Slowly add the food coloring a couple of drops at a time until you have the perfect color of pink.
6. If using the 6-inch pans, bake for approximately 30 minutes. If using the larger, bake for 25 minutes. Check using a toothpick. Be careful not to over-bake. You want the cake to be deliciously moist.

Icing Ingredients

Photo by Amy Lucas

• 11 oz. cream cheese (softened for 1-2 hours)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 stick of butter or margarine
• 1 tsp of vanilla

Directions

1. Use a mixer to loosen the cream cheese.
2. Add the butter and vanilla.
3. Incorporate the powdered sugar slowly while continuing to mix. Mix until the cream cheese is a creamy consistency.

Cake Assembly

• Gently place the first layer on a plate. Spoon a generous amount of frosting on the top. Using an angled spatula, spread the frosting evenly on the top. Let it drip down the sides and spread.
• Place the 2nd layer on top and repeat.

The cakes made the perfect decoration for the dorm.

Bon Appétit!
--Cara