Strawberry Lemonade Cake

fluffy, lemony, strawberry(y?), goodness.

"Everything is better in pink"

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups cake flour

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 7 egg yolks, room temperature

• 7 egg whites, room temperature

• 1 cup blended strawberries

• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

• 1 tsp pink food coloring (optional)

For the filling:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/4 cup lemon curd

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

For the frosting:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and prepare two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper and butter.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a small bowl, beat together egg yolks, blended strawberries, oil, food coloring, and vanilla until well combined.

4. Fold egg yolk mixture into flour mixture until just combined.

5. Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

6. In four even increments, fold egg whites into the cake batter.

7. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly.

8. While baking, prepare the filling by whipping the cream until soft peaks form. Add in lemon curd and powdered sugar, continuing to whip until stiff peaks form. Keep the filling in the refrigerator until it is time to decorate the cake.

9. Let cakes cool on a wire rack.

10. While cooling, prepare the frosting. Beat together butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 4-1o mins (depending on how fluffy you want your frosting). Beat in cream and lemon juice for an additional minute. Sift in powdered sugar and continue beating until all ingredients are combined and your desired consistency is reached.

11. Fill, frost, and decorate cake to taste. Enjoy!