Strawberry Delight Cake

Strawberry Delight Cake is a fresh and tempting dessert, perfect for spring or summer when strawberries are at their peak of ripeness. Here’s how to prepare an Italian version of this sweet.

Ingredients

• 300 g of all-purpose flour
• 200 g of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 packet of baking powder for sweets
• 1 untreated lemon (grated zest)
• 250 g of fresh strawberries
• 250 ml of whipping cream
• 150 g of powdered sugar
• Vanilla (pod or extract)
• Some strawberries for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. Separate the yolks from the egg whites.
3. Whip the yolks with 150 g of sugar until you have a light and fluffy mixture.
4. Add the grated lemon zest to the yolk mixture.
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff with the remaining 50 g of sugar.
6. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
7. Add the sifted flour and baking powder, mixing with bottom-up motions to keep the mixture fluffy.
8. Pour the batter into a previously buttered and floured cake pan.
9. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Strawberry Cream:

1. Clean and cut the strawberries, then puree them.
2. In a bowl, whip the cream with 50 g of powdered sugar and a little vanilla.
3. Gently fold the strawberry puree into the whipped cream, mixing from the bottom up.

For the Assembly:

1. When the cake is cool, cut it horizontally into two or three layers.
2. Spread a layer of strawberry cream over each cake base, then stack the layers.
3. Dust the surface of the cake with powdered sugar and decorate with fresh strawberries.

Curiosity

This cake is a delightful way to celebrate strawberries, which in Italy are cultivated with particular dedication, especially in the area of Nemi, Lazio, where the strawberry festival is celebrated annually. The Strawberry Delight Cake represents a perfect meeting between the simplicity of a daisy cake and the richness of the flavor of fresh fruit.