Listen up, you magical beings dwelling in the mundane nine-to-five matrix of reality! Today, we’re transcending mediocrity and blasting our palates straight to the gates of the divine with the most celestial strawberry cake this universe has ever seen. Consider this the ultimate step-by-step guide to crafting a dessert worthy of a god’s table.
### Ingredients Our Heavenly Concoction Requires:
#### Strawberry Puree:
– 1 pound of fresh, hulled, and sliced strawberries (16 oz)
– 2 tablespoons water (30 ml)
– 2 tablespoons sugar (25 g)
– ⅛ teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt (1 ml)
– Zest of 1 lemon
#### Strawberry Cake:
– 3 ¾ cups cake flour (445 g)
– 2 ½ cups granulated sugar (500 g)
– 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda (7 ml)
– 1 tablespoon Diamond Kosher salt (15 ml)
– 20 g freeze-dried strawberries powdered
– 2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (30 ml)
– ½ teaspoon almond extract (3 ml)
– 1 ½ cups buttermilk (360 ml)
– 3 eggs
– 2 cups neutral oil (480 ml)
– 3/4 cup strawberry puree (180 ml)
– Zest of 1 lemon
– Pink food dye (4-8 drops, optional)
#### Strawberry Icing:
– 1 stick cream cheese (8 oz)
– 1 ½ sticks butter (170 g)
– 4 cups powdered sugar (480 g)
– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10 ml)
– ½ teaspoon almond extract (3 ml)
– ½ teaspoon salt (3 ml)
– 1/4 cup strawberry puree (60 ml)
– 20 g freeze-dried strawberries powdered
#### Filling:
– ½ cup strawberry puree (120 ml)
### Here’s How You Craft Heaven on Earth:
**Step 1: Prepare the Strawberry Puree**
1. Toss your fresh strawberries into a saucepan with water, sugar, and salt. Cook on medium heat until reduced.
2. Add in the zest of a lemon. Stir until the mixture is thick and heavenly smelling.
3. Cool it down. This is the essence of your cake’s divine flavor.
**Step 2: Make the Strawberry Cake**
1. Preheat that heavenly oven of yours to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line your cake pans.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry essence of the cake.
3. Add ground freeze-dried strawberries, vanilla, almond extract, buttermilk, eggs, oil, strawberry puree, and lemon zest to the mix. Blend until smooth.
4. If resembling the hues of a heaven-drenched sunset tickles your fancy, dribble some pink dye in.
5. Pour your batter into the pans and let them bask in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Heaven awaits.
**Step 3: The Divine Icing**
1. Beat cream cheese and butter until it’s a cloud of perfection. Slowly incorporate powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.
2. Fold in strawberry puree and the freeze-dried powder until it’s seductively pink.
**Step 4: Construct Your Stairway to Heaven**
1. Trim your cake layers if needed. Begin the holy assembly.
2. Spread a layer of strawberry puree between your cake layers, building the tiers of heaven itself.
3. Coat with divine strawberry icing. Decorate with grace and berries if desired.
Savor this beauty with reverence and invite your taste buds to the ethereal party they deserve. Ignore the mundane; bow to the bliss. This is not just cake—it’s an experience exploding with life.
Savor this beauty with reverence and invite your taste buds to the ethereal party they deserve.
Ignore the mundane; bow to the bliss.
