My latest favorite dessert--Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Last weekend, some of our favorite college friends came to visit. Kim and I have both grown to love cooking and baking more and more in the past few years and love to compare notes about recipes. In fact, many of the recipes that I post on here were recommended to me by Kim. But I digress, this past weekend, Kim offered to make a dessert that has become one of their favorites--Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Shortcake Cake. I'm SO glad that she did--it's absolutely delicious. Seriously, it's amazing--you must try it! :) It does take a little bit of time, but it's nothing to crazy, just bake a shortcake from scratch, mash up some strawberries, make icing from scratch and assemble. Here's a picture--this is on day 2, so not as pretty as it would have been had I thought to take a picture the day she made it. Honestly, I was to enraptured by the cake itself to think straight! ;)


Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Ingredients:
Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing
1/2 pound cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound strawberries

1. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.
2. Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. (or puree them in a food processor or blender) Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.
9. 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.
10.Slice cake in half through the middle.
11. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices.
12. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15.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!

For pictures that walk you through this recipe, check out the original on the Pioneer Woman's blog. It's one of my favorites! :)