High Altitude Strawberry Shortcake Layer Cake
Soft and fluffy vanilla cake, filled with fresh strawberry compote, and frosted with cream cheese whipped cream frosting.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling
- 1 lb fresh or frozen strawberries, diced
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Cake
- 1 recipe Vanilla Cake
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese or mascarpone cheese, softened at room temperature for 1-2 hours
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- fresh strawberries, for decorating
Instructions
Strawberry Filling
- Wash, hull and dice the strawberries, then combine with the sugar in a saucepan. Let sit for 20-30 minutes until juicy.
- Bring the strawberries to a boil over medium heat, then continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the strawberries are thick and jammy. If the fruit starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, reduce the heat to medium low and continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the filling is reduced to about 1 cup.
- Refrigerate the strawberry compote until well chilled.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- Prepare 1 recipe Vanilla Cake batter, and bake as instructed.
- Cool the cakes completely before assembling your cake.
Frosting
- In a bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese or mascarpone cheese for 2 minutes until smooth. Scrape the bowl down, and add the powdered sugar and vanilla; beat for 1 minute until smooth.
- Gradually stream in the heavy whipping cream, scrape the bowl down again, then whip on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid stand mixer) until the frosting is soft and fluffy, but thick enough to hold its shape. This should only take a couple of minutes, depending on the temperature of your ingredients and kitchen. Be careful not to over-whip, or the frosting could break or separate.
Assembly
- Use a sharp knife to slice off the domed portion of the cakes. You don't need to cut off much, just a thin slice to level and flatten the cake layers for stacking, and to open up the cake crumb to soak up the strawberry filling. Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving plate.
- Take the chilled strawberry filling and set aside 2 tablespoons of the filling. Spread half of the remaining filling on top of the first layer of cake, stopping 1/2 inch from the edge. Place a second layer of cake on top, and spread with the remaining half of the strawberry filling. Place the third cake layer on top, bottom side up.
- Frost all over with the whipped cream frosting, generously covering the top and sides of the cake.
- Take the reserved 2 tablespoons of strawberry filling and randomly dab it all over the whipped cream. Use a small offset icing spatula to swirl and spread the strawberry filling into the whipped cream, but leave it streaky since the contrast of the red and white looks so pretty.
- Top the cake with fresh strawberries and serve.
Video
Notes
Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve cold, or let come to room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.
Many of my refrigerated cakes with whipped cream frosting are sheet cakes, and one thing I always do with these recipes is to soak them with milk before adding the whipped cream. The milk keeps the cake super soft and moist in the refrigerator, which can tend to dry out cakes. With a layer cake, though, soaking it with milk could make the layers less stable for stacking. So if you find that your layer cake seems a bit dry from the fridge, I recommend pouring 2-4 tablespoons of milk over each slice of cake when you serve it. This will soften the cake, and give it the texture of super moist a tres leches cake.
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