Strawberry Cake

Seriously this was the best tasting cake I've ever tasted. The picture does no justice to the taste of the cake. It was so good I am still thinking about this cake. Sadly though the cake looked awful as I had all kinds of problems with the layers and sticking to the baking pans due to the kids helping me. This cake really was not hard to make and I promise you it tastes better than any boxed cake mix you've ever tried. I used three different recipes in making this cake. Also instead of using frozen strawberries I used fresh in the cake.

Strawberry Cake from Scratch
from allrecipes.com

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree made from frozen sweetened strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
from allrecipes.com

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Strawberry Filling for between the layers
from recipezaar

• 2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped hulled strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Bring all ingredients to a boil in a heavy small sauce pan, stirring constantly and crushing berries slightly with back of spoon.
2. Boil 2 minutes to thicken, stirring constantly (mixture will be slightly chunky)
3. Pour into bowl and cool completely.