Kelly’s Dream Cake - KCTV5

Kelly’s Dream Cake

Cake

1 cup (2 sticks unsalted butter) at room temperature

1 (8oz.) package of cream cheese at room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 eggs at room temperature

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

3 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Spray three 8 inch cake pans with a nonstick baking spray.
3. Cream together the butter, sugar and the cream cheese for about 3 minutes.
4. Add Vanilla extract and almond extract
5. Add eggs one at a time
6. Sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to butter mixture and mix until moistened.
7. Divide batter evenly into cake pans.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into cake.
9. Cool for 30 minutes before topping each layer with ganache.

Ganache

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 – 12oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat whipping cream in a sauce pan until it begins to simmer.
2. Remove from heat and mix in chocolate chips until dissolved.
3. Let stand for 10 minutes until thickened.
4. Glaze each cake layer and let them rest until ganache has hardened on each layer.
5. Finish each layer with strawberry glaze before stacking cake layers for a finished cake.

Strawberry Glaze

1/4 cup strawberry jam

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 of a 16 oz. container of frozen sliced strawberries

1/4 cup cold water

2 Tbsp. corn starch

2 pints of fresh sliced strawberries

1. In a medium saucepan, heat jam, sugar and frozen strawberries until simmering on low heat.
2. Mix water and corn starch together.  Add to simmering mixture and stir until thickened.
3. Cool for 15 minutes and fold in fresh sliced strawberries.  Top each ganached layer of cake with strawberry mixture.
4. Stack cake layers and enjoy!