You really can't go wrong with cake, cream and strawberries

BY AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN AP

Published: Wed, August 22, 2018 5:00 AM

This strawberry cream cake recipe appears in the cookbook “Perfect Cake.” [Photo by Carl Tremblay, America's Test Kitchen/AP]

It's hard to believe that the well-loved combination of cake, cream and strawberries could be anything other than perfection, but soggy cake, squishy cream, or bland, underripe berries can easily ruin this heavenly trio.

We wanted a sturdy multilayered cake with a firm filling and unmistakable strawberry flavor fit for a starring role — a berry-filled showpiece that could serve a formal occasion. We quickly realized that layers of tender butter cake couldn't support a substantial strawberry filling, so we developed a chiffon-style cake that combined the rich flavor of a butter cake with the light-yet-sturdy texture of a spongecake.

For a bright, prominent fruit filling, we made a berry "mash" with half of the berries and then reduced the macerated juice in a saucepan (with a little kirsch) to help concentrate and round out the flavor.

The remaining element — the whipped cream — presented one final challenge: When the cake was assembled, the cream squished out the sides and the layers fell apart. To correct this problem, we reduced the number of layers from four to three and fortified the whipped-cream filling with cream cheese for a filling that stayed put.

Sliced berries were the perfect finishing touch for this spectacular summertime cake. If your berries aren't very sweet, use the higher amount of sugar in the filling.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE

Servings: 10-12

Start to finish: 2 1/2 hours

CAKE:

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs (2 whole, 3 separated), room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch cream of tartar

FILLING:

2 pounds strawberries, hulled (6 cups)

4-6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons kirsch

Pinch salt

WHIPPED CREAM:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Grease 9-inch round cake pan or 9-inch springform pan, line with parchment paper, grease parchment and flour pan. Reserve 3 tablespoons sugar in small bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar together in bowl. Whisk in 2 eggs and 3 yolks, melted butter, water and vanilla until smooth.

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually add reserved 3 tablespoons sugar and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Using rubber spatula, stir one-third of whites into batter. Gently fold remaining whites into batter until no white streaks remain.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.

Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Quarter remaining berries, toss with sugar in bowl and let sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain berries in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and reserve juice (you should have about 1/2 cup). Pulse macerated berries in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). Simmer kirsch and reserved juice in small saucepan over medium-high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Add reduced syrup and salt to macerated berries and toss to combine. Set aside.

When cake has cooled, fit stand mixer with whisk attachment and whip cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).

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