Fresh Berry Layer Cake (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

→ Cake Batter

01 - 2 ½ cups cake flour, sifted
02 - 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
03 - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
04 - ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
05 - 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
06 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
07 - ¼ cup vegetable oil
08 - 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
09 - 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
10 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature

→ Strawberry Filling and Topping

11 - 2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed and dried, divided
12 - 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

→ Whipped Cream Frosting

13 - 10 ounces full-fat cream cheese, cold
14 - 1 ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
15 - 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
16 - ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
17 - 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, cold

# Instructions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray three 8 inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes until blended and smooth. Add eggs and mix on low speed until blended. Then turn mixer up to high speed and beat for one minute. Add oil and both vanillas and beat until well blended. With the mixer running on low speed, add one third of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until blended. Add half of the milk, continuing to stir until combined. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk, and then the final third of flour mixture, blending slowly between each addition. Gently fold in any final bits of flour, being careful not to over mix the batter.
03 - Divide the batter evenly between the three pans. Bake the cakes for 21-23 minutes, or until the top sprigs back when gently poked and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Run a cake tester or knife around the edge of the cake to keep it from sticking to the sides of the pan once cooled. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before assembling.
04 - Once the cake is cool, prep the strawberry filling. Wash and dry the strawberries. Slice half (one pound) of the berries into flat strips and place in a bowl. Set the other pound of strawberries aside for topping the cake. Add sugar and stir to coat the berries. Set the bowl aside, allowing the berries to macerate, while you make the frosting.
05 - In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), beat the cold cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat on low speed until mixed. Then turn speed up to medium-high speed until smooth. With mixer running on medium-high speed, slowly stream the heavy cream into the bowl and blend until thoroughly mixed.
06 - Place one cake layer onto a cake plate. Spread a layer of frosting over the top of the cake. Fit a piping bag with a piping tip and pipe a ridge of frosting around the edge of the cake layer. Spoon half of the macerated strawberries on top of the frosting inside the ridge. Avoid adding the juice from the bottom of the bowl. Top the frosting and strawberries with a second layer of cake and top this layer just as you did the first: spreading a layer of frosting, piping a ridge of frosting, and then spooning the remaining strawberries onto the frosting. Top with the third layer of cake. Spread frosting on top of the final cake layer and around the sides of the cake. Pipe a decorative edge of frosting around the edge of the top of the cake. Arrange the un-macerated strawberries on the top of the cake. You may choose to slice some of them.

# Notes:

01 - Moist vanilla cake filled with fresh juicy strawberries and wrapped in a light and airy stabilized whipped cream frosting make this strawberry vanilla cake the best!
02 - This cake is best enjoyed the same day that it is assembled, though it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. It requires refrigeration because of both the fresh strawberries and the whipped cream frosting. Store the cake in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If the cake has already been sliced, place a layer of plastic over the exposed portion of the cake to keep air out.
03 - This cake can sit out at a cool room temperature for up to 2 hours, but because of the dairy in the frosting it should not be left to sit out at room temperature for more than two hours.
04 - The cake layers can be baked ahead, individually wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and frozen for up to two months. Defrost the cake layers at room temperature before assembling the cake.
05 - If baking the cake in 9 inch round pans, divide the batter between two pans. The cakes may need and extra minute or two of baking time. You will not need quite as much strawberry filling or frosting, and can reduce each by about a third.

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