I am loving the idea of baking and decorating with freeze dried fruit. I mean, look how pretty these crushed strawberries look against the chopped pistachios! I was inspired by all the pink Valentine’s Day baked goods that are currently flooding my Instagram feed, but you don’t need a special occasion to bake a cake.

I N G R E D I E N T S

Sponge Cake

• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of cake flour

Filling

• 2 cups of sliced strawberries
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Stabilized Whipped Cream

• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

D I R E C T I O N S

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease two 6-inch cake pans, and line the bottoms and sides with parchment.
3. In the bowl of a electric mixer, beat the egg whites and 1/2 cup of the sugar for 10 minutes, until sturdy and white. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar for about 5 minutes until thickened and pale yellow.
5. Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture until just combined. Then gently sift and fold in the cake flour, 1/3 cup at a time, until just combined .
6. Divide the batter into the two pans and bake for 30 minutes.
7. To make the stabilized whipped cream, mix the gelatin with 1 tablespoon of water and let it bloom for 5 minutes. Then microwave the mixture for 8-10 seconds, until it’s liquefied but not hot. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cold whipping cream on high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly drizzle in the liquefied gelatin. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and stop whipping once the cream holds medium peaks.
8. Combine the strawberry slices with the vanilla and sugar.
9. Divide each cooled cake layer in half. Pipe a layer of cream on the first layer, top with strawberries, and place the next layer of cake on top. Repeat with each layer. Gently cover the entire cake with the remaining cream.
10. Top the cake with crushed freeze dried strawberries and chopped pistachios.