Vanilla Cake With Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting

Through this instructables, you should learn how to bake this cake, make the frosting, and assemble the two together. I found this cake to be a great summer baking option because the frosting is light and fluffy, and the cake is similar to a pound cake--as all deliciously made cakes should be. This would be great for a special event, birthday, or even just for fun!

The list of ingredients (with measurements) are as follows:

• 4 1/2 cups of cake flour
• 3 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs and 1 egg white
• 3/4 cup of sour cream
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons of milk (1%)
• Non-stick spray (I used coconut oil spray)

The list of supplies are as follows:

• Stand mixer (or hand-held mixer)
• Two mixing bowls
• Glass measuring cup
• Dry measuring cup
• Teaspoon
• Tablespoon
• Spatula
• Three baking pans (they should be round)
• Cake stand (or something similar)
• Oven

Before baking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Then, spray the baking pans generously with non-stick cooking spray (I love coconut oil spray, but any kind will work).

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. For best results, sift the ingredients in the bowl. Then, set this bowl aside.

Now, in a mixing bowl (either with a hand held mixer or an electric one) beat the butter and sugar together until it is smooth. Once this is done, slowly add the eggs (yes, including the egg white). I add one egg at a time combining each egg thoroughly before adding the next. It is important to make sure that this is well combined.

In the same mixing bowl as the butter, egg, and sugar concoction, add the sour cream and vanilla...again...mix well. After it has been well mixed, be sure to scrape down the sides (scraping the bowl is a necessity that I do not recommend skipping...plus it makes more cake, and who doesn't love that?).

At this point, grab the dry ingredient combination that was set aside earlier, and add half of it to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl. Once this is done, and the flour is well combined, scrape the bowl again.

Now, add the milk, mix it, and scrape the sides. Then, poor the remaining flour into the bowl and stir until it is fully combined.

Once the batter is fully combined, evenly divide it into the three prepared baking sheets and place them in the oven for 35 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick can be inserted in the center of the cake, and the toothpick comes out clean.

The ingredients for the frosting are as follows:

• 3 cups of heavy cream
• 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened)
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 pints of strawberries (finely chopped)

The supplies for the strawberry frosting are as follows:

• Stand mixer (with whisk attachment) or handheld beater
• glass measuring cup
• dry measuring cup
• teaspoon
• two bowls (one for mixing majority of ingredients, one to mix and set aside)
• spatula
• parchment paper

In the bowl that can be set aside, use either a standing mixer or a handheld, and whisk the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form (this can take time, so be patient). Then, set this bowl in the fridge to chill. Personally, I like to set the bowl in the freezer before making the whipped cream because it sets up into whipped cream faster.

Start by beating the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until it is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides a few times, and then add the sugar and vanilla. Beat this on a medium setting until it is fully mixed.

Once the mixture is well combined, mix the strawberries in the bowl on a low speed. At this point, remove the bowl from the stand mixture, grab a spatula, and slowly and gently fold the whipped cream into the frosting (I definitely recommend a taste test). Before frosting the cake, set the frosting in the fridge for about 20 minutes to allow it to firm a bit.

Once the cakes are completely cooled, place a few sheets of parchment paper on your cake stand. This helps prevent frosting from smearing on your stand. Then, put the bottom layer of the cake on the cake stand flat side up. Frost only the top of the cake (usually about 1/2 an inch thick). Repeat this with the next two layers. Then, using an offset spatula, frost the sides of the cake. Smooth the frosting out around the cake, and feel free to garnish the cake with strawberries on top. Ta-da!

In conclusion, I found this recipe to be pretty simple to follow, and the cake was delicious. If you don't like strawberries, they can be substituted out for any kind of berry. For another example of this cake, visit:

http://www.yellowblissroad.com/fresh-strawberry-ca...