Looking through my old drafts, I realized I never got around to posting this. I was tempted to edit but decided against it - I think this captures quite well how I felt at the time. So, a peek into my day, August 13, 2020.

This strawberry cream cake may look simple, but to me is my most special cake yet because it's...my first order ever!!! I've been wanting to sell my bakes for the longest time but never really put myself out there, yet this order arrived straight on my doorstep (or my messages, rather) - the Lord provides indeed. My mom's longtime friend found out about my blog recently and reached out to order a cake for her partner's birthday. She wanted something light and fresh, so I thought a fruit and whipped cream cake would be perfect for summer.

I didn't get to take nice photos of the cake, but I suppose this is an accurate depiction of the group effort that went into it!

My biggest challenge was the lack of tools in my kitchen at home. When quarantine began I thought it'd be for a couple weeks or months, so I left all my supplies behind. Buying new cake pans was more difficult than it sounds because apparently everyone's baking now and a lot of stores were out of stock! I wasn't able to get my hands on an offset spatula or turntable, so I frosted the cake on a plate using a butter knife. It was incredibly difficult to transfer off a curved plate, but with four hands and a lot of frantic yelling (from my mom), we managed.

  • My makeshift cake leveler
  • Who knew a couple magazines and plank wood would come in handy in the kitchen!
  • Assembly

Tools aside, I still have a lot more to learn about whipped cream. When I worked at Paris Baguette I learned that they use a non-dairy whipped topping with additives and stabilizers that make it smooth and sturdy. Not only is this not sold in regular grocery stores, it's also full of ingredients that probably aren't very good for you. Using fresh whipped cream is tricky because you have to stabilize it, then when frosting, it starts looking really grainy really fast. I found that heating the knife at the very last stages of smoothing helps. The heat melts the cream ever so slightly, giving it a glossier finish.

Then came delivery. In 100F+ weather the cream was threatening to melt on the ride over, so we blasted the air conditioning and hoped for the best. Thankfully it arrived as planned, but I have no idea how I could've transported it alone.

All technicalities aside, I couldn't have been more thankful to our friend (and my first client!) who ordered it. She was so gracious, generous, and encouraging throughout the process and I wish I only could've done better. This is a cake I'll treasure for the rest of my baking life, because it truly marked the beginning.

It's important that the strawberries are sandwiched between cream to prevent moisture from leaking into the sponge and making it soggy.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 layers of yellow cake of your choice (check out my Cake Chronicles for the recipe!)
  • 1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream, straight out of the fridge
  • 1 tsp. gelatin + 1 T. cold water
  • 3 T. sugar
  • Simple syrup
  • Strawberries

PROCEDURE

  1. Once you have your cake layers baked and leveled, slice strawberries and place them in between sheets of paper towels to dry off. Then, you can get started on the whipped cream.
  2. Whip the cream and sugar on high speed (7 on the stand mixer) until thick but not yet to soft peaks.
  3. Prep the gelatin by mixing with water and microwaving in 10 second intervals until the gelatin is dissolved.
  4. Lower the speed (3-4 on stand mixer) and continue mixing, streaming the gelatin water in.
  5. Check the cream often once it gets thick, you don't want to overwhip. Stop once it gets to soft peaks!
  6. Start with the first layer of cake. The layering goes: cake -> brushing of simple syrup -> whipped cream -> strawberry slices -> whipped cream -> cake -> repeat.
  7. Crumb coat with whipped cream, then refrigerate for 30 min to set.
  8. Frost with almost all the rest of the whipped cream, reserving some to pipe on top. The more you work with and aggravate the whipped cream the less smooth it becomes, but I found that doing a final scrape with a hot spatula/knife really helps smooth it out!
  9. Pipe remaining whipped cream on top and decorate with strawberries, or however you'd like. Glaze strawberries with more syrup if desired.
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