Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I made you a cake. A strawberry one. With strawberry cream cheese frosting and a few fresh whipped cream rosettes.  For an interesting flavor, I used some malted milk powder which makes this cake taste reminiscent of a strawberry milkshake.

For the cake, I used a few drops of natural red (made from beets) food coloring to create a ripe strawberry hue, but that is entirely optional. I also used stabilized whipped cream for my rosettes, made by adding 1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin to 1 cup heavy cream.

To make strawberry puree, buzz fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries in the blender until smooth. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. Use leftovers on another occasion--in my case, for smoothies.

Enjoy.

Strawberry Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup malted milk powder
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 cup strawberry puree
Few drops natural red coloring, optional

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. strawberry puree
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar, as needed

For the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 nine-inch cake pans.

Sift together the flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt.

Stir together the milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the mixing bowl, starting and ending with the flour. Combine well but do not over mix. Blend in the food coloring if using.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Start checking after 20 minutes and add small increments of baking time as needed being careful not to over bake. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out and invert cakes so the top is up to cool completely.

For the Frosting, whip butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until very pale and creamy, about 8 minutes. Mix in strawberry puree and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat well until fluffy. If the frosting is too stiff and a little milk; if too thin, add more sugar. Use about a cup of frosting for the middle of the cake layers and use the remaining for the top and sides of the cake.

Decorate as desired.