Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Today, my daughter and I holed up in the kitchen and whipped up some comfort food.  For dinner, we had Cheesebuttons, a family tradition.  For dessert we had this Strawberry Shortcake Cake, per request of Grace.  It was very good even though I did mess up the recipe a bit!  I divided the batter between 2 round cake pans instead of putting all the batter in one, then cutting it in half like the recipe states.  The reason you need to have those cut halves is that the inside serves as a wonderful "sponge" for the strawberries in their juices.  I knew mine wouldn't absorb the sauce right, so we spooned it over the top.  Still delicious, but I am looking forward to giving it another go!

Frosting Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients (salt is hiding behind the cute blonde;)

Delicious!

Cake

1-½ cup Flour

3 Tablespoons Corn Starch

½ teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened

1-½ cup Sugar

3 whole Large Eggs

½ cups Sour Cream, Room Temperature

1 teaspoon Vanilla

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Icing

½ pounds Cream Cheese, Room Temperature

2 sticks Unsalted Butter

1-½ pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound Strawberries

Preparation Instructions

IMPORTANT: Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.

Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly like my bottom. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

Stem strawberries and slice them in half from bottom to top. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.

Make icing: combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.

Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.

Leave plain OR garnish with strawberry halves.

IMPORTANT: Cake is best when served slightly cool. The butter content in the icing will cause it to soften at room temperature. For best results, store in the fridge!

Source: Pioneer Woman