Strawberry Dream Cake

Name: Strawberry Dream Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 57 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 2 c. frozen whole strawberries (12 oz); 3/4 c. milk (I used 2%); 6 egg whites, room temperature; 2 teaspoons vanilla; 2 1/2 c. flour; 1 3/4 c. sugar; 1 Tablespoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 10 Tablespoons butter, softened; 2 1/4 c. powdered sugar; 10 oz. cream cheese, softened; 8 oz. fresh strawberries, thinly sliced

Published: Aug 1, 2014. Modified: Mar 8, 2022 by HezziD

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It's my 4 year blogiversary! Can you believe that I'm been blogging at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks for 4 years? I can't! My blog has grown so much in the past 4 years. I started out with a tiny point and shoot camera and didn't really know what I was doing. Since then I've gotten a DSLR camera, several lenses, editing software, and a camera with a decent phone. It's been a fabulous journey and has really turned me into a much better cook. I look forward to celebrating four more years and today I'm going to share with you a delicious cake from one of my favorite cooking shows.

Every Saturday morning when I wake up I turn on the TV. This is totally different from my weekday routine where the TV doesn't come on until I'm home from work. On Saturdays, the TV goes on and I go right to the MPT (Maryland Public Television) station to see what is on TV. My absolute favorite shows to watch on Saturday are the cooking shows that are on from 1:30-4:00 on MPT. They are only on maybe twice a month but I totally love them. I can sit and watch for 2 ½ hours and be totally inspired.

I get more work done on my blog in those 2 ½ hours then I do most of the week. My two favorite shows, and the ones my husband loves to watch as well are Cook's Country and America's Test Kitchen. They are both shows out of America's Test Kitchen. This same company puts out Cook's Illustrated which is my go to online recipe site. I have never made a recipe from ATK that hasn't worked. They are always delicious and they always turn out.

So when I was watching America's Test Kitchen last week they made a Strawberry Dream Cake. I'm not talking about the cake that's made with Whipped Cream and strawberries. This is a real dream cake. The cake is made with juice from the strawberries, then the frosting is made with the strawberry solids. I have the problem that every time I make strawberry frosting it curdles. I hate to make it because of this.

I'm happy to report that ATK has solved this problem for me! By taking the liquids out of the strawberries and then adding them to the frosting, it prevents it from curdling! This alone makes this cake worth making. In addition to the yummy strawberry cream cheese frosting, there's a layer of fresh strawberries in the middle. The entire cake tastes of fresh strawberries and is totally delicious.

I made the cake to take to dinner at a friends house. This cake almost didn't happen as the night before our power went out and stayed out for 18 hours. In the morning I had to throw away most of what was in our refrigerator but I was determined to make the cake. I went to the store, got the ingredients, and got baking. The entire process was easy to follow and went off without a hitch. The only problem I had was that the frosting was really soft. I was able to put the entire cake into the refrigerator for an hour before we left and it really helped to firm it up.

The cake itself has a light strawberry flavor and is firm enough to hold up to the soft frosting. The frosting is simply bursting with fresh strawberry flavor. I also liked that the frosting isn't overly sweet. It has a great balance of sweet and creamy going on. This cake not only tastes amazing but it looks great as well. Definitely a special occasion cake.