strawberry cake

• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a few strawberries, chopped

milk crumbs

• 1/4 cup milk powder
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp milk powder
• 1 1/2 oz white chocolate, melted
• two 7.5 oz bags of freeze-dried strawberries

assembly

• strawberry jam

preheat oven to 350º. grease a half sheet pan and line with parchment paper. in a saucepan, stir together the strawberries, 2 tbsp sugar, and water. bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. boil for 5 minutes or until the strawberries cook down and start to thicken. remove from the heat and let cool. in a stand mixer, mix together the flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt. beat in the butter until just combined and moist crumbs form – do not overmix. in a glass measuring cup, whisk together the egg whites, milk, and vanilla. add about half of the mixture into the mixing bowl and beat until just incorporated. add the remaining milk mixture and repeat. add the cooked strawberries, mix, and spread evenly in the pan. bake 15-20 minutes. cool in the pan, then flip onto a rack to cool completely.

for the frosting, beat all ingredients except strawberries together in a stand mixer for 5 minutes, or until smooth. fold in chopped strawberries.

for the milk crumbs, preheat the oven to 250º and line a baking sheet with parchment. pulverize both packages of freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor. set aside. combine the milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. toss to mix. add the melted butter and toss until clusters form. bake the clusters for 35 minutes on the sheet. let cool, then pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until evenly coated. toss with the freeze-dried strawberry powder.

to assemble, use the cake ring to punch four circles out of the cake. wipe off the cake ring, then place it on a sheet pan. line the ring with the strip of acetate, and lay a 6-inch circle of cardboard (or cake board) in the bottom. place a circle of cake in the ring. use the back of a spoon to spread on a fifth of the frosting. top with some strawberry jam (push it towards the edges) and sprinkle on some crumbs (use the bigger clumps if you can; discard or eat the tiny crumbs). repeat with the second and third circles. nestle the final layer on top. cover the top of the cake with the rest of the frosting and garnish with a border of milk crumbs. transfer the sheet pan to the freezer, and freeze for at least 12 hours (or up to 2 weeks). keep refrigerated; bring to room temperature before serving.