Almond Flour Strawberry Shortcake Cake With Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting Food

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan that's at least 2 inches deep (or you can split the batter between 2 pans if they're not deep enough).
• To make the cake batter, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the sour cream and vanilla, then mix until just combined.
• Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda and add it to the bowl.
• Mix it together until just combined.
• Spread it in the pan or pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake is no longer jiggly like my bottom.
• Carefully remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool completely.
• Next, mash the strawberries with a potato masher or a fork (reserve a few for garnish if you like).
• Sprinkle the strawberries with the sugar. Toss them around and allow them to sit for a little while.
• They'll give off this beautiful liquid after several minutes. Try not to drink it with a straw.
• To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl.
• Mix until very light and fluffy. Warning: You'll feel like eating this bowl of icing before you even get it on the cake.
• To assemble the cake, use a sharp knife to cut it in half through the middle. It's easier if you go all around the perimeter of the cake, slicing only halfway through the circle the whole way.
• Lay the two halves cut side up.
• And cover both halves with an equal amount of strawberries. Then--this is an important step!--place the cake halves in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. This'll firm up the surface of the strawberries just a bit so that it's easier to spread on the icing.
• Remove the cakes from the freezer and place one layer on a cake stand or platter. Cover with a little less than a third of the icing.
• Place the second layer on top, then spread the top with icing.
• Carefully ice the outside of the cake with the remaining icing.
• Lovely! You can certainly decorate the top of the cake with strawberry slices, too. But I'm hungry and want to eat, so I'll skip that part.
• Store leftovers in the fridge. The cake can be made up to 24 hours in advance.

CLASSIC STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch-round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Make the cake: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk the melted butter, vanilla bean paste, eggs, milk and lemon zest in a medium bowl until just smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out of the pan onto the rack and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the toppings and filling: Halve 16 strawberries. Whisk 1 tablespoon water and the strawberry jelly in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the halved strawberries and toss to coat; set aside. Thinly slice the remaining strawberries, then toss with 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in another medium bowl; set aside. Beat the heavy cream, the remaining 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Refrigerate the whipped cream until ready to assemble. Carefully cut the cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Place the bottom half cut-side up on a platter. Drizzle the juices from the sliced berries over the cut sides of both cake halves. Fold a few tablespoons of the whipped cream into the sliced berries; spoon over the bottom cake layer. Cover with the other cake layer, then top with the remaining whipped cream. Top with the halved strawberries and their juices. Photograph by Anna Williams

ALMOND SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Whisk 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk 2/3 cup milk, 1 egg and 1/3 cup vegetable oil, then stir in the flour mixture. Drop scoops of the dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 475 degrees F until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Split the shortcakes and fill with whipped cream and blackberries.