First in 2014 : A Belated Birthday Cake

Specially for my sister.

Her birthday was on the second week of 2014, but we had to held off the cake until few days later when my sister got home from college. She likes soft fluffy cake and I like to make something other than chocolate as focal point so I settled on this. 

It was safe to say that she loved it! If you have the same taste as her, THIS is definitely the cake. Soft, fluffy cake filled with delightfully tangy cream cheese filling. For appearance sake, a little chocolate dust to complete the picture. 

Luscious Strawberry Cake

Makes two layers of 7 inch round cake

The cake:

1 cup cake flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter/vegetable shortening/margarine

1 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup corn oil

2 large eggs (separated)

1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp strawberry emulco

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg Celsius
2. Grease and line bottom of 2 (7 inch) round pans with parchment papers
3. Mix cake flour and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside
4. In a large bowl : Cream together shortening/butter/margarine + sugar. Then add in oil and mix till blended well. Add in the yolks one by one and beat well until combined
5. Alternately adding flour and buttermilk into the creamed mixture. Start and end with flour in three additions. Stir in vanilla and strawberry emulco. Mix until combined
6. In separate bowl : Beat egg whites till stiff peak forms
7. Fold into the batter in three stages taking care not to deflate the whites until the batter is completely lightened
8. Divide the batter into prepare pans and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until tester inserted comes out clean
9. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning on to cooling rack and remove the parchment to cool properly

Filling:

2 cups whipping cream

8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1/8 cup yogurt (room temperature)

1 cup confectioners sugar

In a clean bowl, beat whipping cream to stiff peak. Set aside. In another bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy then stir in yogurt. Add confectioners sugar. Beat until fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Cover and store in the fridge so we can start on the cake.

Constructing the cake:

Baked cakes

1/2 cup fruit juice (orange/mango/strawberry/pineapple/etc.)

Cream cheese filling

Dark chocolate shavings and chocolate sprinkles for finishing touch

1. Place one cake layer on serving plate, brush with fruit juice until the top part is soaking wet. Cover generously with cream cheese filling and smooth over with spatula. Cover with another layer, brush top with remaining juice. Apply thin layer of cream all over the cake for a crumb coat, refrigerate for 10 minutes
2. Take out the cake from fridge and finish dressing the cake 
3. Place the cake in fridge to set for at least 4 hours before serving

Have your cake and eat it too!