Sweet, luscious, red through and through strawberries.
It was a tall order, but I came up with a lovely dessert that pleased everyone.
Always something special on Sunday
My mom loved making cakes.
Local strawberries, sweet and juicy, and red all the way through. Ah, the season is just too short!
They were tiny little gems, the size of your pinkie nail, and picking them was quite tedious!
But their flavor was beyond anything the commercial growers could produce.
This year, the strawberries are the best Ive tasted in years, so I was hopeful.
A slow start
My first attempt was a failure.
I just used my moms yellow cake recipe and tossed in chopped strawberries.
The cakes fell in the middle, drastically, Im assuming because the strawberries released too much liquid.
Local strawberries, sweet and juicy, and red all the way through. Ah, the season is just too short!
I cried, but just for a few moments.
Now, this became a challenge.
So, now what do I do?
Many used strawberry Jell-O, which I immediately rejected for its artificial flavors.
This sounded reasonable to me, since this would reduce the amount of liquid the strawberries exuded.
Maybe my cake wouldnt fall.
She said to add twice as much as I thought I should.
I actually found some made with real strawberries!
OK, I had a plan.
This called for making the puree, but I change a few things.
I used a non-fat yoghurt rather than the sour cream because that is what I had on hand.
I also used oat milk rather than dairy, and cake flour rather than all-purpose.
Some of her reviews said the cake was quite dense.
To further lighten, I separated the eggs and whipped the whites to fold in at the end.
Did it taste like my mothers cake?
Did it taste like a strawberry ice-cream bar?
You bet it did, and everyone was delighted with the flavor and texture.
Great minds and all that!
The cakes could have been twins to look at, but vastly different in flavor!
Great minds and all that!
Take a cruise over to see her luscious cake, with much more detailed instructions than mine!
I even forgot to take a photo once we cut the cake!
Summer Solstice Strawberry Crunch Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
First, make the strawberry reduction.
In a food processor, puree the berries until they are smooth, about 1 12 cups.
Slow boil over medium heat until thick and reduced by half.
Combine the strawberry reduction, yoghurt, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large bowl.
The mixture will start clumping together like beach sand.
Add the freeze-dried strawberries.
This is going to start smelling really good just about now.
it’s possible for you to add food coloring here if you want a deeper color.
I didnt bother because I was looking for flavor not color, but it is your cake!
Beat the egg whitesto very soft peaks, then gently fold into the batter.
Bake until that ever-present toothpick comes out clean.
In the meantime, crush up the wafer cookies.
Make the frosting, below.
Get as fancy as you like, and garnish with a few more pretty strawberries.
see to it all ingredients are soft and at room temperature.
In a double boiler, melt white chocolate.
Set aside to cool slightly.
Once nice and fluffy, add the chocolate and vanilla extract.
Sprinkle in confectioners sugar and the strawberries.
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