Enjoyer of Grace: BDAY PART I: THE CAKE

E LOVES strawberries so I decided to make him a strawberry cake for his birthday. I was super excited when I came across this recipe from Jason and Shawnda that didn't involve any food coloring or artificially flavored jello mixes. I altered the recipe a little based on the ingredients I already had.

Ingredients:

3/4 C strawberry puree

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
4 whole eggs
2 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C coconut oil

Frosting:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
3/4 C of white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C of heavy whipping cream

Decorations:

plastic stencil pattern
colander/strainer
hot cocoa powder

4 strawberries (sliced length-wise)
scrapbook paper
wax paper

Directions:

To make the strawberry puree, first set aside 4 strawberries and puree the rest of the strawberries from the carton (~16 oz.) with 1/2 T of sugar. Transfer the puree into a small sauce pan and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. The color should slowly darken and become more vibrant.

Strain out the pulp and set the puree aside to let it cool. You should have about 3/4 C.

Line your baking pans with wax paper and wrap the cardboard cake rounds with foil. Lightly oil the sides of the pans and set aside.

For your wet ingredients, combine the milk, strawberry puree, eggs, and almond extract in a small bowl and mix together with a fork.

For your dry ingredients, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder into a larger bowl. With an electric mixture, slowly pour in the coconut oil until a crumbly mixture is formed.

Pour the wet ingredients in and continue mixing until it's well combined. Evenly divide the mixture into two separate pans.

Bake at 350 for about 25 min. Once it's ready, remove from the pan and let them cool off on a rack.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting by mixing the cream cheese with the sugar. Set aside.

In a separate clean and dry bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks are formed. Gently fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream.

Tips: Before using, place the bowl and the beaters in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Make sure the whipping cream is cold too before whipping.

Place the two layers of cake onto the cake rounds. Spread a very thin layer of frosting between the two layers of cake and then another thin layer to cover the outside. Place the cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Apply a second thin layer of frosting and freeze again for another 15 minutes. Use a paper towel to smooth out the cake. Click here for the video.

To make the paper wrap, cut out your choice of scrapbook paper to fit around the cake. Cut out a sheet of wax paper the same size. Adhere the scrapbook paper to the wax paper using tape or glue and wrap the whole thing around the cake. Seal it with tape.

To make the decoration on top of the cake, you will need a plastic stencil pattern, hot cocoa powder, and a colander or tea strainer. Lightly place the stencil on top of the cake and dust the powder through a colander over it. Carefully remove the stencil. Lightly dust the rest of the cake to cover up any imperfections.

Using the 4 strawberries that you had initially set aside and sliced, lay them around the stenciled design. Place the cake in the fridge until it's ready to be served!