Strawberries and Cream Spectacular
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cup (625 ml) sifted cake flour
- 1 2/3 cup (400 ml) sugar
- 4 tsp (20 ml) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) milk
- 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp (2 ml) vanilla extract
- 5 egg yolks
- 4 cup (1 liter) strawberries
- 2 cup (1/2 liter) heavy cream, whipped with 1/4 cup (50 ml) sugar and
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (175 ml) red current jelly
Instructions
Sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and half 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 350F oven (180 C) for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centers of the layers comes out clean. While the cake is cooling, wash and hull the strawberries. Chop enough strawberries to make one cup (1/4 liter); reserve the remaining berries. Fold the chopped strawberries into one cup (1/4 liter) 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 (I'd put the bottom side up myself, in order to make a flat surface). Slice the reserved strawberries lengthwise. Arrange the sliced straberries 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 complete, continue placing the berries 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 pipe 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.