Sponge Cake with Creamy Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting

Those of you who come here often already know there's a complete lack of fancy decorated layer cakes. That's not due to a lack of interest but rather to a complete lack of talent in the fancy decorated layer cake department. Oh, I'm the queen of crumb cakes and fruit pies but once you start talking about frosting and layers you should probably go elsewhere. I'm working on it.

But I assure you that what this cake lacks in symmetry it more than makes up for in taste. And, truth be told, I sort of like the rustic look. There, I said it. Probably a tough sell in a bakery display case, though. In fact, I would certainly not attempt to slice this cake. I would just throw it in the middle of the table with a bunch of spoons and watch it disappear. There won't be any laughter, just a bunch of happy eating noises.

The cake part itself is just a simple sponge because, like all frosted cakes, it's really just about the frosting. In this case, the frosting is actually a loose version of a no-bake cheesecake piled with fresh strawberries. Doesn't that sound amazingly good? It really is. Or was. I had to dive for a forkful before it was ravaged by my guests. I'm sure that if you put some effort into it, you will have more even layers of cake and less drippy cheesecake frosting. But...why? Enjoy!

by Hungry Couple

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 40 Minutes

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Ingredients (6 - 8 Servings)

• Cake:
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 1 Stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 Cup all purpose flour
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 
  
• Frosting:
• 8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1/2 Cup whipped topping
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Small pinch of salt
• 1 lb. Strawberries, hulled and sliced

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add the eggs and sugar to a large bowl and beat together, using a hand mixer, until lightened in color. Beat in the butter, vanilla and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured cake pan. You can use either one 8" cake pan or two 4" - 5" pans. I used two 5" spring-form pans. (You can also double the recipe and bake in two 8" pans for a larger layer cake.)

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the tops are a light golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the pans.

While the cakes cool, make the frosting by beating together the cream cheese, sugar, whipped topping, milk, lemon juice and salt.

When the cakes are cooled, slice each in half, place a large dollop of frosting on the bottom tier followed by a couple of tablespoons of sliced strawberries. Top with the next tier and repeat.

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