1. For the strawberry sauce, in a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until all lumps are gone. Over medium heat, in a medium saucepan, mix strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, juice and salt. Once mix begins to boil, pour in cornstarch and water slurry. Cook until strawberries reach desired tenderness. Remove from heat to cool.
2. For the whipped cream, place powdered sugar and cream cheese in a bowl (or stand mixer) with fitted whisk attachment. Hand mixer also works! Beat cream cheese and sugar until well incorporated. Slowly pour in cream and vanilla bean or extract. Mix until you see medium peaks forming. Try to avoid stiff peaks. We want soft, velvety peaks.
3. For the cakes, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift powdered sugar and flour 1-2 times then set aside. Using baking spray, grease three 6 inch cake pans. Grease the bottom and sides well. Place fitted parchment paper at the bottom of each cake (this helps the cakes release later).
4.Using a stand mixer with whisk attachment, on low speed mix egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, almond extracts and salt. Slowly increase speed to high speed. * With mixer on high, begin slowly adding the granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time. Wait about 3-5 seconds after each tbsp, so the previous tbsp has time to incorporate in the egg whites. You will notice the egg whites grow in size and become glossy- that’s ok! That is good. Once you have incorporated all the sugar, stop the mixer and look for stiff peaks in your egg whites. Keep beating the egg whites on high if they are not super stiff.
5. Then, using a spatula, gently fold in about a third of sugar/flour mix. Mix until almost fully incorporated, then add the additional flour/powdered sugar batches. Note: try to not over-mix- slowly and gently fold until you can no longer see dry ingredients in the egg whites.
6. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 35 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched. You should notice some light cracking on the tops and also the sides. Thats okay, we want dry cracks! When cakes are done baking, using oven mitts, flip each pan over (so bottoms are up) and let them cool upside down over cooling racks. Let them cool for about 1-2 hours. Once the cakes are cool, you can flip them over and run a sharp knife along the edges so they can be released.
7. Assembly! Place one cake on a cake stand or plate. Using a spatula, spread a third of the whipped cream over the cake. Top with a third of the strawberries. Place the next layer on top.
Note: This cake can be very tender, especially when stacked. I highly recommend assembly right before you eat OR build the cake at your destination. It takes 10 minutes to assemble.
If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!
(If you dont have a kitchen scale) When measuring your flour, be sure not to scoop your measuring cup into the flour (that is too much flour!) You want to spoon your flour into your measuring cup (spoonful by spoonful) until the cup is full. Then use a knife to scrape off the top, excess flour. This tip will ensure that you are not using too much flour in your recipes.
When mixing the batter for the cakes, it is important to know that you should NOT overmix. Overmixing can lead to dry and tough cake. While it may be tempting to smooth out every single lump, don’t. Mix the batter until all dry ingredients are no longer visible, then put the spatula down :-D.
Do not skip the step of flipping the cakes over to cool after they have baked. The cake turns out so fluffy and delicious, its worth the extra step.
If the ingredient is listed as *room temp* really strive for room temperature. It’s critical because, you don’t want a lumpy frosting. Room temperature ingredients also help with an even bake.