Elegant Strawberry Cream Cake
Here is how to make an Elegant and Dramatic Strawberry Cream Cake. It is lighter on the calories than most cakes, plus it is beautiful, and it tastes superb!
Here is how to make an Elegant and Dramatic Strawberry Cream Cake. It is lighter on the calories than most cakes, plus it is beautiful, and it tastes superb!
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- angel food cake (i purchased mine from the deli section of my supermarket. you m
- 2 cups fresh strawberries washed and sliced
- 8 oz. package cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz. frozen whipped topping carton thawed (i used about 1/2 of the carton.)
- additional sliced strawberries for garnish
- Carbohydrate 32.5785052146111 g
- Cholesterol 36.316 mg
- Fat 12.8709548717949 g
- Fiber 0.572427351187003 g
- Protein 5.44069931628053 g
- Saturated Fat 8.19920866666667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (121g)
- Sodium 132.020055555664 mg
- Sugar 32.0060778634241 g
- Trans Fat 1.28235053846154 g
- Calories 261 calories
Step-by-step
- Remove the angel food cake from its container, and invert it onto a cake stand or cake plate.
- Cut a ?-inch slice horizontally from the top of the cake and set it aside, remembering the orientation (for placing it back on top later).
- Now, cut about ?-inch from the center hole and ?-inch from the outer edge of the cake with a sharp knife, hollowing out a channel between the inner and outer edges of the cake.
- Carefully cut and pull cake pieces out with your fingers, leaving about ?-inch layer of cake on the bottom.
- Reserve the removed cake pieces.
- Beat 8 oz. cream cheese with a mixer, until light and fluffy.
- Add 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
- Beat well, until smooth and combined.
- Fold in reserved cake pieces and 2 cups sliced strawberries.
- Spoon into channel formed by removing cake pieces.
- Spread the mixture gently, but pack it well enough that there are no unfilled holes.
- Top the cake with the reserved ?-inch cake slice.
- Refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
- Frost with as much of an 8 oz. carton of whipped topping as desired.
- Garnish with strawberry slices.
- Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
The Danger of Soggy Crumb
Angel food cake is a delicate, foam-based structure built on whipped egg whites. Moisture is its absolute enemy because liquid rapidly dissolves the fragile sugar-and-protein matrix into a gummy paste. Packing the hollowed channel too densely with wet fruit will ruin the crumb entirely. Seal the interior walls carefully by ensuring your cream cheese mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon before folding in the 2 cups of fresh strawberries.
Achieving Structural Integrity
Cream cheese must reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit before beating to prevent lumps from forming in the sweetened condensed milk. Acid from the 1/3 cup of lemon juice reacts with the dairy proteins to firm the filling without additional gelatin. Pack the hollowed channel tightly so that air pockets do not collapse when the top layer of sponge is replaced.
Managing the Resting Window
Refrigerating the assembled dessert for 8 hours allows the sponge to absorb moisture evenly without disintegrating. Chill the cake under a loose tent of plastic wrap to prevent the whipped topping from forming a dry skin. Slice the chilled dessert using a serrated knife kept clean between cuts to preserve the sharp interior geometry.
