strawberry cake

my dream birthday cake

I was happy to see that strawberries have started to show up at the fruit sections of most groceries. Their bright red colors made me think of making a cake that would highlight them in a special way. It's time to appreciate what springtime brings once again. Warmer weather, fresh air and bright colors all around us.

This cake was an early warm weather treat. Strawberries may be more linked to summer than spring but I've always loved them and so for me, they're such a welcome sight anytime.

This month, I celebrated my birthday and the 7th year of my foodblog. The same interest in food and cooking that I had when I started this foodblog still remains. I remember getting into the world of blogging seven years ago when I found out how easy it was to create one in Blogger. I enjoyed it so much that I never stopped :-) I'm pleased with how this strawberry cake turned out. It's a new technique and recipe that I've always wanted to try. I was dreaming of a strawberry cake like this to make for the occasion. A cake that's light and fluffy with fresh strawberries and whipped cream icing in between the layers and topped with more fresh strawberries. I found the idea and recipe in a website called "Cooking With Dog" with a Japanese lady chef and her dog named Francis doing the cooking demonstrations. A Japanese male narrates in English. I've always mentioned how I like to watch cooking videos to learn more. This cake is called "Christmas Cake" and it's a traditional cake to make in Japan for the holidays.

The procedure for mixing the cake batter was interesting but it was a brand new technique for me. However, after watching the informative video a few times, I was able to learn how it's done. I discovered a whipped cream stabilizer (Dr. Oetker brand) which I used for the first time. It was so convenient to use, just add the contents of the envelope to a cup of well chilled heavy whipping cream. The cooking video has many more tips for making this cake which are quite helpful for the home cook.