Strawberry Mascarpone Cake

Yep, ok..... this is it.  If you are looking for a fabulous cake with the sweet taste of whipped cream, strawberries and mascarpone - this is it.  This is the mother load of all cakes!  I made it for Easter, but this would be great for a shower, graduation or even a cookout.  If you love dessert like I do, then this is a no brainer.  It takes a little bit of time assembling, but worth it.

I originally found the recipe on For The Love Of Dessert.  I made a few adjustments to the filling and left off the graham cracker crumbs because it looked just fine without them to me.  I mean come on.....doesn't that look good?  If you like strawberries and whipped cream, I promise this won't disappoint.

Preheat Oven to 325F Degrees

FOR THE CAKE

1 box of white cake mix, sifted

1 c. cake flour, sifted

1 c. sugar

1 1/3 c. whole milk

1 c. sour cream

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 egg whites

FOR THE FILLING

1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp of white sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

2 cartons of strawberries (or 1 large carton)

FOR THE FROSTING

12 oz. of mascarpone cheese (1 1/2 containers)

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2 c. heavy whipping cream

 

DIRECTIONS

For the Cake:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, whisk together cake mix, flour and sugar. Then add in milk, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Scrape down sides and mix again until well incorporated. Finally add in egg whites.

Grease 2-9 inch round pans (I used Pam). Divide batter equally in the 2 pans. Bake for 30-minutes until the top of the cakes are slightly golden brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Do not over cook.  You want the cake moist! Allow the cake to slightly cool. Then turn them out and let cool completely.

If cake is not completely flat, use either a cake leveler or knife, to make cake completely even.

For the Filling:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip heavy whipping cream, on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Add sugar and vanilla.  Whip to stiff peaks.   Set aside in refrigerator.

Using half a carton- hull strawberries and slice lengthwise. Set aside.

Then, place one carton of strawberries in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the sauce appears to be like a "chunky applesauce." Using a strainer, push the strawberry puree through- to get rid of excess water. Fold strained strawberry puree (i.e., puree minus the water) into the whipped cream. The whipped topping will become a pink color when puree is well incorporated. Then fold in sliced strawberries.

Keep in refrigerator until assembling cake. Reserve 1/2 carton of strawberries for decorating.

For the Frosting:

In a medium bowl, whisk together mascarpone cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar with a spatula until well blended and smooth. Then, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip heavy whipping cream, on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in whipped cream into the cheese mixture. I actually blended this on low to make sure it was mixed well.  

Assembling the Cake:

Place one 9-inch round cake on serving plate. Place a large, heaping scoop of strawberry filling on top(you may not use all of the filling). Using a spatula, spread the strawberry filling evenly.

Gently place the second 9-inch round cake directly on top of filling, slightly pressing down and making sure the second layer of cake is perfectly aligned with the second. Cover cake with mascarpone frosting. Decorate as desired using the remaining frosting and strawberries.

Let me know what you think!

Happy Tuesday.

Paula