Strawberries and Cream Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake, 

6 eggs, separated into yolks and whites

1 and 2/3 cup flour (all-purpose should work fine)

1 and 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

Just under half a cup (~0.42 cup) of cold water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the sweetened milk, 

1 and 2/3 cup milk of choice (I use whole Lactaid)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the whipped cream icing and filling, 

2 and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (if you don't have any, use 3/4 cup granulated sugar to replace it)

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Get a box of the freshest strawberries you can find to go inside and on top!

Everything in place? Then it's time for instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have two 8 inch cake tins, line them both with parchment paper - but if you're like me and only have one, don't fret. Just bake the layers one after the other, making sure to let the pan cool down a little before adding the second batch of batter. You can store the batter in the fridge while the first layer bakes; it should work out fine. 

If you've seen the Tres Leches recipe, the method here is similar. First, in a large bowl, whip your egg yolks and half of the granulated sugar together until the mixture turns lemon yellow and increases in volume.

Then, work on the whites. Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to a separate bowl; once they start getting foamy, gradually add in the other half of the granulated sugar and whip until stiff peaks have formed. Set aside. 

Take the yolk mixture and add the oil, water, and vanilla, whisking until combined. Once that's done, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk again until you get a smooth batter. (Sifting your flour before this will help.)

Gradually add the whipped egg whites to the batter, folding gently until no streaks of yellow remain. Now you're ready to put the cake in the oven. Pour into your lined and ungreased tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. Once the cake is done baking, flip the pan over onto a wire rack of some kind to keep the cake from shrinking. 

While the cake is cooling, make the sweetened milk by combining the milk, sugar, and vanilla extract in a saucepan (or even the microwave) until the sugar fully dissolves. This step shouldn't take long. 

You can also make the whipped cream during this time. Combine the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla, then beat until stiff. You'll want to make sure that it's at the right consistency for spreading over the cake. 

If you're really prepared, use this time to slice some strawberries for the middle of the cake as well. 

Once the cake has cooled, which should take about 20 minutes, poke a few holes into them with a knife, fork, or skewer. If you have two cake tins, you can just pour the milk over and let it sit; if you only have one, use a basting brush of any kind and carefully baste the cake layers until either you're satisfied or you've used all the milk. 

When that's done, you're ready to assemble the cake. Place your first layer on your serving plate of choice, then spread some whipped cream on top and place some strawberries. You can cap that off with more whipped cream if you desire - just keep in mind you need some for decorating too! Then place the remaining layer on top of that and use the rest of the whipped cream and more strawberries to decorate. Add whatever you want for style. Now it's ready to serve! Store in the fridge until it's time to bust it out. 

When we decorated the cake Minecraft-style, strawberries were really conducive to that since thin layers could be sliced into shapes to mimic the in-game design, and stiff whipped cream could be shaped into the texture as well using a spatula and some concentration (even though my roommate didn't trust me enough to handle that part since I have unsteady hands). Here's a pic of that, if you want some inspo.