Strawberry Courting Cake

2 hours and 45 minutes, 10 Servings

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2.75 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
  • 1 tsp grated lemon peel
  • 1.5 cups whipping cream
  • 6 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Compote Ingredients

  • 6 cups strawberries, sliced
  • 6 Tbsp orange juice
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp grated orange peel
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon Powdered sugar for dusting

Description

  1. Prepare compote. Place berries in large bowl, add orange juice, sugar, peel and cinnamon. Let stand at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally.
  2. Preheat oven to 350◦. Butter 2–9” cake pans, line with parchment. With an electric mixer, beat butter until light. Add 1 cup of sugar, beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in 2 tsp. of vanilla.
  3. Sift flour, baking powder, nutmeg & salt together. Fold into butter mixture. Mix in milk. Divide batter between two prepared pans. Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (about 30 min). Cool cakes on racks for 15 min. then turn out onto racks to cool completely. Split each cake horizontally in two. Combine cream, sugar, vanilla & nutmeg, beat until stiff peaks form.
  4. Place one cake layer, cut side up, on serving platter. Spread with 1/3 cup compote, then 1 cup of cream. Repeat this with 2 more layers. Top with the last cake layer cut side down. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.