• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1043 0

around in the car and carry it into TV stations and newspaper offices. I didn’t think about the humidity or the moisture the fresh berries add and how the frosting on that cake would run down the side of the plate onto the car, onto everything! So, with that first strawberry cake in mind, I have learned some things about adding fruit to frostings, mostly cream cheese frostings. And I am happy to share what I now know.

When you want to flavor a cream cheese frosting with fresh fruit, use no more than one tablespoon of mashed and well-drained fruit—whether it’s strawberries or peaches or fruit preserves. Use full-fat cream cheese because it is less watery than reduced-fat. And chill the frosting thirty minutes before you frost the cake. The cake layers need to be cool. It even helps if the kitchen is cool, and once the cake is assembled and frosted, place the cake in the fridge to let it set before slicing. Always garnish the cake just before serving because fresh fruit gets soggy quickly.

STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CAKE

I LOOK AT THIS CAKE AND SEE THE FOURTH OF JULY, backyard parties, celebrations—all that is right in this world. The cake is all simplicity, with freshness and flavor and a lot of pizzazz. My older daughter says this cake might just be her favorite. She has an April birthday and from now on it will be her birthday cake. Spring is just the right season for strawberry cake as flavorful berries start coming into the market then. Many years ago Pam Rector of Hendersonville, Tennessee, sent me a recipe for a similar cake, a refrigerated strawberry cake recipe that originated in Milledgeville, Georgia. I think I have improved on that cake, and I hope you take this recipe as a starting point and feel free to make the cake with sliced peaches or nectarines or raspberries, whatever ripe and delicious fruit is on hand.

serves:

12 to 16

prep:

50 minutes

bake:

20 to 25 minutes

cool:

30 minutes

For the cake

Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans

Flour, for dusting the pans

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup water

½ cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs

For the filling and garnish

2 quarts fresh strawberries, rinsed and drained on paper towels, plus ½ cup, sliced, for garnish

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1. Make the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly mist three 9-inch round baking pans with vegetable oil spray, then dust them with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, cream cheese, water, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth, 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. Divide the cake batter evenly among the 3 prepared cake pans, about 1¾ cups of batter per pan, smoothing the tops with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven. If your oven is not large enough to hold 3 pans on one rack, place 2 pans on that rack and one in the center of the rack above.

3. Bake the cake layers until they are golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 20 to 25 minutes. The cake layer on the higher rack may bake faster so test it for doneness first.

4. Meanwhile, make the filling: Cut off and discard the caps of the 2 quarts of strawberries. Cut the strawberries into 3 or 4 slices each, place them in a medium-size bowl, and set aside. Place the sour cream, whipped topping, and confectioners’ sugar in another medium-size bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 15 to 20 seconds. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium