Strawberry & Cream Cakes

For the cake:
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream butter for about 2 minutes until it is white in appearance. Add sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, combine milk and almond extract. Add flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture alternately with the milk and almond extract.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form peaks. Add the stiffly beaten eggs to the cake batter. Fold the egg whites in gently. Do not over-mix at this point. If you do, your cake will become more dense.

Grease and flour 9×11 cake pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan. Bake cake at 350ºF for 27–30 minutes or until the top bounces back when you touch it.

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges and remove them from the pans to a wire rack, allowing them to cool completely. Transfer to freezer before cutting.

For the frosting:
Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup. Set aside.

With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, cream, and extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or 1 more tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.

Slice almond cake into three layers, frosting each.