Homemade Strawberry Cake

This cake is VERY rich. Slice it into eighths. It is an old style scratch cake with an extraordinary flavor. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tbl cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup of salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
5 eggs
1 cup heavy cream plus 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 cup of fresh strawberries, pureed
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, divided into 2 portions
1 1/2 cups of pecans, coarsely chopped, divided into 2 portions
vegetable shortening and flour for the three 9 inch diameter cakepans

For the Frosting:

2-8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of butter, softened
2 pounds of powdered sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
6 or 8 drops of red food coloring
pecans reserved above
shredded coconut reserved above

For the Compote:

1 cup of fresh strawberries, minced
2 tbl of rum
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Garnish:

sliced fresh strawberries

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease 3-9 inch diameter cake pans with vegetable shortening and dust them with flour.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk or sift until the dry ingredients are uniformly mixed.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter sugar mixture beating them into the mixture before adding another. Add the extracts and strawberry puree and mix these in well.

In a separate bowl, add the vinegar to the heavy cream and stir this together well. Add a portion of the flour mixture to the creamed sugar-egg mixture and beat this in until well mixed. Add a portion of the vinegar-cream mixture to help this process. Add another portion of the dry ingredients, mix it in, and add some more vinegar-cream to help. Repeat these steps until all the wet and dry components are mixed to form the cake batter. Finally, add 1/2 of the coconut and 1/2 of the pecan pieces to the batter and mix them until all is uniform.

Pour equal amounts of batter into the 3 cake pans and bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Place the pans on a wire rack to cool while you make the frosting and the strawberry compote.

Making the Frosting:

Cream the cream cheese, and butter together until smooth. Add the extracts and beat these in until uniform. Add the sugar in small portions while beating until the frosting is smooth. Repeat this step until all the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is creamy and smooth. You can add a tbl of cream or milk if the frosting becomes to thick, but beware of adding too much liquid. Finally, mix in 6 to 8 drops of red food coloring to make the frosting a light pink color.

Making the Strawberry Compote:

Marinate the minced strawberries in the rum, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better. When you are ready to frost the cake, using a slotted spoon, drain as much juice from the strawberries as you can. Apply the strawberries to the surface of the frosting in-between the layers.

Assembling the Cake:

Frost the top of the bottom layer, and spread a thin layer of strawberry compote on top. Sprinkle with 1 or 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut, followed by a tablespoon of pecan pieces. Place the next layer on top and repeat this process. Place the third layer and frost the top and sides of all layers. Finally, sprinkle shredded coconut on top of the cake and sprinkle the remaining pecan pieces over the top. Place your strawberry slices on top in a pattern you like. Cover and store the cake in the refrigerator until serving time, this will help tighten up the frosting.

Homemade Strawberry Cake