Strawberries and Cream Spectacular! This recipe comes from the Time Life Series of Books called The Good Cook/Techniques and Recipes published in 1981. I had the entire collection in those days, and through the years I have donated many and sold some at yard sales, but this particular one simply called Cakes remains on my shelf.
It is a great resource for anyone who loves baking cakes as I do. This particular cake is one that I love and continue to make today. I have made it for many special occasions, including a bridal shower for my best friend’s daughter a few years after we had moved here.
It is a great springtime cake and I served it at the brunch we had a week ago.
Now I’ll confess I use a pastry bag and tip to decorate occasionally, but my skills are from from that of a professional.
Somehow with this cake even if you stray as I do from using 3 different tips as the recipe suggests, this cake always ends up looking yummy and tasting yummier.
And, if you don’t run out of whipped cream as I did this time, you can also pipe rosettes around the bottom edge of the cake for a more finished look.
But you know what, nobody said, “Hey, where are the rosettes?”
The cake itself is light as a feather with just enough lemon flavoring that complements the ripe strawberries and vanilla flavored whipped cream.
May is around the corner and with it strawberry season, so find an occasion and do make this delicious spectacular cake.
Strawberries and Cream Spectacular
(The Good Cook, Cakes from the Time Life series, Elise W. Manning, Farm Journal’s complete home Baking Book)
To make one 9-inch cake
2 and ½ cups cake flour
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 and ¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg yolks
4 cups strawberries
2 cups heavy cream, whipped with ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup red currant jelly
Sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the shortening and half of the milk. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for two minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.
Add the remaining milk, the lemon extract, the vanilla extract and the egg yolks. Beat with the electric mixer for another two minutes.
Pour the batter into two buttered layer-cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centers of the layers comes out clean.
Cool the layers in their pan for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks.
While the cake is cooling, wash and hull the strawberries. Chop enough strawberries to make one cup; reserve the remaining berries. Fold the chopped strawberries into one cup of the whipped cream.
Place one cake layer, top side down, on a serving plate. Spread it with the strawberry-cream filling.
Top with the second cake layer, top side up.
Slice the reserved strawberries lengthwise. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of the cake, starting at the outer edge and placing the slices with their pointed ends toward the edge of the cake.
After the first circle of berries is completed, continue placing the strawberries in this manner until the top is covered.
Refrigerate the cake for 10 minutes.
Melt the red currant jelly in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Carefully spoon or brush the hot jelly over the strawberries
Spread some of the remaining whipped cream around the sides of the cake.
Spoon the rest of the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a No. 190 drop flower tube. Pipe rosettes between the strawberry points around the rim of the cake. then change to a No.24 star tube and fill in the spaces. Finally, change to a No. 71 leaf tube, and piupe a border around the bottom edge of the cake.
If you do not wish to decorate the cake with decorating tips, spoon the remaining cream in small puffs on the top of the cake between the strawberries.
Refrigerate the cake until time to serve it.