Girlfriend-worthy Birthday Cake with Strawberries and Cream

What better time to showcase your culinary abilities than an extra-special occasion like a loved one's birthday?

This past month I celebrated my girlfriend's birthday with her for the very first time. Obviously, this was my chance to show off. But I was nervous. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to these things. Everything had to be just right. The girlfriend is a rather fantastic cook herself (her strawberry shortcakes with fresh whipped cream played a key role in the winning of my affections). And she had requested something vague yet specific: a cake that was dense, rather than light and airy, and one that would have whipped cream and strawberries on top.

No problem, I told her, and went off to Google any number of variations on "dense cake recipe," followed by browsing all my favorite food blogs for trusted cake recipes, followed by browsing articles on food science to determine what made cakes dense so I could ensure I got the proper result.

It was a tricky process. Most cakes garnished with cream and fruit were very light and very airy, like angel food cake, or close to it. Chocolate cake recipes were often dense, but definitely not what she had asked for.

Finally I found the one. The recipe fit the requirements but also intrigued me: it called for no butter or shortening at all, yet it promised to produce a moist and tender and cakey cake. The secret is in the heavy cream: the fat of the cream replaces the fat of the butter that most cakes rely on for texture and flavor.

This cake came out exactly right. It was everything I had hoped for and more-- and the ingredients and instructions were refreshingly straightforward.

The cream in the cake also makes it an ideal base for topping with whipped cream and strawberries. The girlfriend and I slathered the whipped cream all over it to beautiful effect, and we savored the moist, rich results (no pictures were taken before we devoured it).

Girlfriend-worthy Cream Cake
via Food Loves Writing

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until thick and bright yellow; then add sugar and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Beat alternately with the cream into the egg mixture, a little at a time. Batter will be very thick.

Spread batter into the two cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Loosen cakes by running a spatula or butter knife around the edges of the pans, tap the pans sharply once, and let cool.

Whipped cream and strawberries:
3 cups whipped cream
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
2 T white sugar
strawberries, or other berries or fruit, sliced, at room temperature

Do not make the whipped cream until just before the cakes are done and cooled completely. Otherwise, your whipped cream will turn right back into cream. (Stick the cakes in the fridge for a while if you're impatient or short on time.) While the cakes are baking, put a metal mixing bowl in the fridge or freezer to chill it. The cream will whip faster that way.

Set out some strawberries (or other berries if you so desire) so they'll be at room temperature and more flavorful. Biting into cold strawberries is less fun for everyone.

When ready to make the whipped cream, pour heavy cream (we used a pint and a half, or 3 cups, but we like whipped cream in copious amounts) and extract into the pre-chilled bowl and beat with electric mixer. (Whipping cream by hand is possible, but not advisable unless you really like taking half an hour to make it.) When cream thickens, add some white sugar (2 to 3 tablespoons) and continue to beat at high speed until thick and whippy. (You'll know.) Take the cakes, invert them, and frost/assemble the layers, arranging the strawberries on top of the whipped cream.

(I've seen complicated instructions on how to trim layer cakes so they have a straight edge, but here you really don't need to bother. The whipped cream will fill out any uneven parts very nicely.)