Strawberry Crazy Cure

A few weeks ago it was Easter and I made this fantastic, amazing, mouth-watering cake.  Let me just say that this cake makes me happy.  It makes me almost forget that it has been raining like, forever around here.  This cake is sooo good that if I had some right now it might slip my mind that Mr. Veen's tooth fell out today, and Thing 1 and 2 have colds.  I might even not care that precisely as a result of eating this cake my shorts fit a little snugger.  Because of this cake I may just be able to believe that the sun will eventually shine long enough to ripen instead of rot our lovely Oregon strawberries. 

I think I may need to make this cake again.  Maybe you do too.

Here's how:

Strawberry Shortcake Cake via PW

Ingredients

• 1-½ cup Flour
• 3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 3 whole Large Eggs
• ½ cups Sour Cream, Room Temperature
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• Icing
• ½ pounds Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
• 2 sticks Unsalted Butter
• 1-½ pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound Strawberries

Preparation Instructions

IMPORTANT: Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.
Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.
Pour into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly like my bottom. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.
Stem strawberries and slice them in half from bottom to top. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.
Make icing: combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.
Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.
Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.
Leave plain OR garnish with strawberry halves.
IMPORTANT: Cake is best when served slightly cool. The butter content in the icing will cause it to soften at room temperature. For best results, store in the fridge!

It really is good!  It almost makes you not care about how crazy life is.  Crazy.  Now that's something to talk about...... 
Stay tuned this week for a little (or alot) of crazy!  Can you dig it?