Super Strawberry Cake

This was so much prettier in my head. I thought I had figured out how to get smooth (not lumpy, pictured) frosting, but I thought wrong. I swear I sifted the sugar! Argh. I'm still going to eat it.

Do you want to know how to make a possibly lumpy, but EXTRA delicious, Super Mushroom/Strawberry cake? Read on...

Strawberry Cake



2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter (or spray) and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans or one 9x13 cake pan. Set aside.

Combine remaining dry ingredients (except sugar) in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar in a separate bowl, beat remaining ingredients together. Add to dry, beating with a wire whisk. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick.

This recipe comes from Whole Foods, and I was very happy with it. It was hard to find a strawberry cake recipe that did not use white cake box mix and/or Jello!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting



1-1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Beat butter briefly, scrape bowl.
Add the sifted powdered sugar and cream. Beat until smooth.

I was not so happy with this. I'm not sure what went wrong. Maybe I did not beat long enough? Maybe I accidentally put in too much cream?

Assembly

Cut the domed crust off the two cakes, leaving a flat surface.

Frost the bottom layer.

Slice a handful of strawberries into thin pieces and arrange them on top of the bottom layer.



Frost the bottom of the top layer then lay it on top of the bottom layer and frost it.

Put cake in the refrigerator to harden frosting.

Strawberry and Ganache Topping

Dice a handful of strawberries into small pieces and toss with red jam (to maintain color). With a butter knife, carefully sketch out the shape of the Super Mushroom into the frosting, then arrange the strawberries in the appropriate place.

In a(n improvised) double boiler, melt two bars of high quality dark chocolate (I like Callebaut). When fully melted, add cream until ganache is the desired consistency.



Let ganache cool a bit, then transfer to a ziploc bag and cut off the tip of the bag. Draw the outline and the mushroom eyes with the ganache.



That's it! Perfect for birthdays for eight year olds in the eighties (or lazy days for twenty something right now).