Strawberry Ribbon Cake

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks/8 oz.)
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/3 cup mashed fresh strawberries
• 1 (1 lb) package confectioners' sugar

Recipe

• 1 for the cake:.
• 2 grease two baking pans, 8x8x2; dust with flour.
• 3 sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt onto wax paper. cream butter until soft in a large bowl; beat in sugar gradually until fluffy. beat in eggs, one at a time, until fluffy again, then flavorings.
• 4 stir in flour mixture, alternately with milk, just until blended. spoon half the batter into one pan; stir food coloring into remaining batter; pour into second pan. bake in moderate oven (375°f) 35 minutes, or until centers spring back when pressed with fingertip. cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; turn out onto racks; cool completely.
• 5 split each cooled layer; put together, alternating pink and yellow, with part of the strawberry butter cream; frost sides and top with remaining.
• 6 for the strawberry butter cream:.
• 7 blend cream cheese with butter until fluffy in a medium-size bowl; beat in strawberries. stir in 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar until smooth. measure out 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for filling. beat remaining confectioners' sugar into remaining mixture in bowl for frosting.