Baked, Filled And Frosted

The 10-inch tier chilling.

I began baking the cakes for my friend Jeff's wedding at 10 a.m. this morning and by 8 p.m. this evening, all of the tiers were filled, frosted and being chilled.

It was a long day but also fun for me since I haven't baked a cake for months due to my kitchen remodeling project. My sister who lives close by,  loaned me her kitchen for the day and even cleared out her whole refrigerator so that I wouldn't have to move the cakes until the day of the wedding.

My nephew Sam and my niece Maya were so helpful to me,  showing me where things were in the kitchen and even helping me clean up.

Now that the majority of the work is done, it's nice to be able to relax a bit until Saturday when I need to transport and stack the tiers at the venue. Oh, I'll also need to add the fresh flowers for decoration.

After baking the pumpkin flavored cakes, I leveled them and placed them on foam core rounds that I cut to the size of my cake pans. I use foam core because after the tiers are stacked I like to put a dowel down through the center of the entire wedding cake for stability. A dowel sharpened in a pencil sharpener easily goes through the foam core.

The bottom layer of the tiers got a coating of dark chocolate ganache.

After adding the second layer to the tiers, I let the cakes chill well before frosting.

I made a simple cream cheese frosting and used the back of a teaspoon to add swirls for texture. I like the natural look of this frosting technique and think it will look soft and elegant with the addition of fresh flowers for decoration.

Strawberry Cream Cake

Strawberries and cream are one of my favorite flavor combinations.

How can you not like strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream or even toast with cream cheese and strawberry jam?

So to honor this perfect duo of flavor I created this Strawberry Cream Cake.

I baked two layers of my favorite white cake, soaked them with sweetened strawberries and coated it with a lightly sweetened cream cheese and cream frosting.

The cake turned out pretty and was loved by my dinner guests. A plus is that you can make this cake anytime of year. I used frozen sliced and sweetened strawberries.

Strawberry Cream Cake

For the cake:
1 cup shortening
4 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
6 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups milk
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and line with parchment two 8-inch round pans that are at least 4-inches deep. Combine the shortening, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond extract.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the milk and beat for 2 minutes. Add the four unbeaten eggs and remaining 1/2 cup of milk, beat for 2 more minutes.

The batter divided among the two pans.

Pour the batter evenly into the two pans and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

To assemble you need:
24 oz. frozen sliced and sweetened strawberries, defrosted
One of the cake pans cleaned and lined with plastic wrap
Cream cheese and cream frosting

Use a serrated knife to cut one of the cake layers in half.

Put one of the halves, crumb side up in the lined cake pan. Spread 1/3 of the strawberries over the layer and be sure to drizzle on 1/3 of the juice.

Top with the other half of the cake layer crumb side down. Press the cake down using your hand or the back of a spoon.

Spread 1/3 of the strawberries and juice over the top of the cake layer.

Use a serrated knife to cut the final cake in half and put half of the cake crumb side up in the pan.

Drizzle the final 1/3 of the strawberries and juice over the cake and top with the last half of cake crumb side down.

Press this down and cover with plastic wrap.

Put the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the cake layers firm up.


Invert onto a cake stand or plate and frost with Cream Cheese and Cream Frosting.

Chill the cake for at least 2 hours before serving.


Cream Cheese and Cream Frosting:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Whip the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Finally add the heavy cream and whip for 2 to 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.