Pink Lady Cake

Recipe adapted from smittenkitchen.com, originating from Sky High cookbook.

INGREDIENTS

For Cake:
- 4 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 5 1/4 teaspoons baking power
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries*
- 8 egg whites
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 to 2 drops red food dye

For Frosting:
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

I made the following alterations to the recipe:

- I used 2 cups strawberries (versus 1 1/2 cup).
- I thawed the strawberries before I pureed them. The frozen strawberries will solidify you softened butter.
- I followed the cream cheese frosting recipe but then folded in 1 1/2 cup of freshly whipped heavy cream. Only reason for this, is that my mom likes a "lighter" tasting frosting, although this obviously add more fat :)
- The recipe calls to mix 8 egg whites just to blend. I did this with 4 of the egg whites. With the remaining 4, I whipped them to somewhat stiff peaks, and gently folded them into the batter at the end. I did this for a fluffier cake.
- The cake itself is not very sweet, but the frosting is. If you are eating the cake alone, add about 1/2 cup more sugar.
- I added about 4-5 drops of red food coloring (versus 2) to the batter. It's suppose to be pink!!
- I used frozen strawberries, which is what the recipe calls for. If you use fresh, and they aren't very sweet, do compensate with additional sugar. I recommend sticking with the frozen for consistency.


DIRECTIONS

For Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350»F. Butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans. Line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point. (Deb note: I must warn you not to try the batter at this point. Not even a smear of it. How unbearably good it is will shock you, and lead to more dipping. Only you can stop this from coming to pass.)

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.

4. Bake the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire racks and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

For Frosting:
5. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

For Assembly:
6. Place one cake layer on a cake board or platter. Tucking scraps of waxed paper under the edges of the cake will protect the board or plate from any mess created while frosting the cake. (I forgot, as can be clearly seen above.) Spread about 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it to the edge. Repeat with the second layer. Add the top layer and frost the top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, reserving a small amount if you wish to tint it and pipe a decoration on the cake. If not, you can decorate the cake top with thinly-sliced strawberries. Remove the waxed strips to reveal and neat, clean cake board.