FoodMayhem.com

It's Cinco De Mayo and my dad's birthday, occasion enough to make a cake. My parents are like most Chinese parents, not fans of most American desserts. They find them too sweet, too dense, and too heavy. I tried to make a cake that was more suitable for my dad's taste buds, a simple Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake. It's deceivingly light because the cake is actually a high fat cake but everyone was fooled, and loved it.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

1 recipe of any 9" butter cake (I used Golden Butter Cream Cake from The Cake Bible.)

Topping

• 1 quart strawberries, divided, sliced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
• 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
• 4 teaspoons water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Make 9" butter cake and allow to cool.
2. While cooling, toss 1 1/3 cup sliced strawberries with sugar, Grand Marnier, and lemon juice. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Refrigerate the mixing bowl and beater for 15 minutes or more.
4. Place gelatin and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.
5. Microwave on high for 10 seconds once or twice, and stir until gelatin is dissolved.
6. Cool to room temperature, 7-9 minutes.
7. Beat sugar and cream until you can see distinct beater marks.
8. While continuously beating, pour gelatin mixture in a steady stream into whipping cream. Add vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.
9. Strain the marinated strawberries and gently fold into whipped cream.
10. Pour onto cooled cake and spread evenly over the top with an offset spatula. (Optional, whether you want to cover the sides or not. )
11. Use remaining strawberries to decorate the top.
12. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.


After I finished making the cake, I was sort of disappointed, thinking the cake was kind of boring and not special enough, but everyone loved it, eating more than they usually do of dessert. After each of us had a slice or two, there was maybe 1/3 of the cake left. Lon kept eating a little bit more, then a little bit more, and suddenly there was only 10% of the cake left. I guess it was better than I thought. It's kind of a variation on Strawberry Short Cake and sometimes, you just can't beat the classics.

posted by Jessica@Foodmayhem at 10:26 PM 6 Comments add a comment