Strawberry Cream Cake

Strawberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits. You can do a million different things with them. I am beginning to see them appear in grocery sale papers, marking the start of their season.  My father-in-law takes frequent fishing trips to an area of Florida where strawberries are grown and are ripe in the early spring. On his way home he likes to stop at roadside produce stands and buy some of the Sunshine State's bounty. We like it because he generously shares what he brings home....ripe tomatoes, Indian River grapefruit, several varieties of oranges, and red, juicy strawberries.

I always feel rushed to use up the strawberries while I have them and today's recipe is one of my favorite ways to do it. The actual preparartion and assemly of the cake is not difficult. But the process requires some time, i.e., cooling of the angel food cake and refrigeration time. Calories can be shaved off by using reduced or fat free ingredients. I will print the recipe as written and in parentheses I will put the lower calorie alternatives.

                            

I like to make the angel food cake as opposed to buying a ready made one because it yields a larger cake.  I used to be intimidated by angel food cake but nothing can be easier than a Duncan Hines mix....no eggs, oil, etc. You only add water to the mix and let the mixer go to it for a few minutes. You don't even have to grease and flour the pan. On the contrary, beaters and bowl and pan should be grease free as any oils prevent the incorporation of air which gives the cake its fluffiness. The cake in the pan is turned upside over a bottle to cool for an hour and a half. I use a wine bottle for this purpose.

Slice off the top of the cake and put aside.

Using a serrated knife, cut one inch from the center hole and side of cake. Use a "sawing" action with the knife as the cake does not cut cleanly. With your fingers, pull out pieces of cake to form a tunnel. Be careful to leave the side and bottom intact.

Mix the cake pieces with strawberries, cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice, and almond flavoring.

Fill in the tunnel with mixture and replace the top. Frost with Cool Whip and decorate with sliced strawberries if desired.

Strawberry Cream Cake
1 (14.5oz) package white angel food cake mix
1 (8oz) pkge cream cheese (or 1/3 less fat), softened
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk (or fat-free)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 (8oz) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed (or lite variety)
Additional strawberries for decoration
 Prepare angel food cake according to package directions, using a 10-inch tube pan. Invert pan on funnel or bottle for 2 hours or until cake is completely cooled.
 Loosen cake from sides of pan using a small metal spatula. Remove from pan; cut a 1-inch slice crosswise from top of cake and set top aside. Cut 1 inch from center hole and outer edge of cake with a sharp or serrated knife.Carefully remove center of cake, gently pulling cake pieces out with fingers, leaving a 1 inch layer of cake on bottom. Reserve cake pieces.
 Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add condensed milk; mix well. Stir in lemon juice and almond extract. Fold in cake pieces and strawberries; spoon into tunnel in center of cake. Top with reserved cake slice. Chill 8 hours or overnight. Frost with whipped topping and garnish with additional strawberries.

Happy cooking!
Nan