Ingredients:  Cake

12 Tbs unsalted butter (1 ½ stick) at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

4 large eggs at room temperature

½ tsp lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla

2 ¼ cups of pastry or cake flour (if using all purpose add ¼ cup corn starch)

1 ½ Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ cup milk (add up to ¼ more if batter seems too thick)

Frosting:

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

½ tsp vanilla

2 lbs of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced in small pieces.  

    Reserve a few whole strawberries to decorate top of cake 

Directions: Cake

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch cake pans.  
3. Add flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and stir til mixed all together. 
4. Cream the butter and sugar til fluffy, using an electric mixer with the flat attachment
5. Add the sour cream then add one egg at a time, lemon zest and vanilla last.   
6. Scrape down the batter from the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold into the batter.

On low, slowly alternate adding the flour and milk to the creamed butter sugar mixer.  Don’t over mix and scrape down sides and bottom in between adding flour and milk.

Pour the batter, dividing the batter into the two cake pans.  

On the middle rack place cake pans in the oven and bake at 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes till a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for about 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edge of the pan and place on a wire rack and cool til at room temperature. 

Frosting:

1. Slice or chop up strawberries in little chunks, reserving a few strawberries to decorate the top of cake.  Place in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a mixer, fitted with the whip attachment, pour whipping cream into bowl and slowly (at first then increase speed) whip whipping cream till soft peaks form.  Add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar.  Continue to whip til whipping cream is slightly stiff but not like butter.   Gently transfer to another bowl.
3. In a mixer bowl, attached with the flat attachment, add cream cheese.    Add remaining powdered sugar and vanilla.  Cream until well blended.   Drain strawberries if there is a lot of juice.  Gently fold in chopped strawberries.
4. Fold in whip cream mixture until blended. 
5. Place one cake on a cake stand.  Spread about ½ of the frosting mixture on the cake.  6. Place the other cake on top.  Spread the remaining frosting on the top of the cake.  
6. Decorate cake with reserve whole or strawberries cut in half on top.

Scrumptious  

Store cake in the refrigerator til ready to serve.

Enjoy.  

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