Triple Threat Strawberry Almond Vanilla Cake
The Cake (Three 8 or 9 inch round pans):
4 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 1/4 cups beet sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups soy milk or other ‘milk’
2 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup light, natural oil
Equivilant of 3 eggs, beaten (see the substitutions section of this website)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare your pans by placing them on pieces of wax paper, tracing and cutting out the circle-shapes, and lining the bottom of the pans with the wax paper circles.
In large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Combine remaining ingredients, and add to flour mixture. Beat for 2 minutes.
Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out dry. Please be careful not to let this cake overcook or it becomes quite dry. Allow to cool about ten minutes, then run a table knife around the edges to seperate them from the pan. Tap the cakes out of their pans onto a cooling rack, peel off the wax paper, and let cool completely before frosting.
Makes three 8 or 9 inch round layers.
Vanilla-Almond Pastry Cream Frosting
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
Cook the flour and milk together over low-medium heat until VERY thick. Chill thoroughly. Cream the margarine and sugar together and add the extracts. Beat in the flour and milk mixture a little bit at a time, until it has the consistancy of a very thick whipped cream. If it seems too soft/runny, keep adding more powdered sugar until it stiffens up to your liking.
This should be plenty to frost the three layers of cake (you may even have some left over…bummer!)
For the decorating:
1/2 pint of fresh strawberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
Wash, trim and slice the strawberries so that they look kind of like little hearts (no need to go all Martha Stewart or anything, though…). Stick the slices onto the sides and top of the cake in a pretty pattern. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the almonds.
Chill this thoroughly before serving. You do not want to let this cake “sit out” for too long or the icing will soften and the cake with start to slide around.
Enjoy!!!