Hannah's Note: Pound Plus Cake must chill for 48 hours. Make it 2 days before you plan to serve it. You can also bake it, cool it, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil, and freeze it until you need it. This recipe makes 2 cakes. Each cake serves six people.
Generously butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. (Don't use Pam or spray shortening - it won't work for this cake.) Cream softened butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. (You can mix this cake by hand, but it takes some muscle.) Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until they're nice and fluffy. Then add the sour cream, baking powder and vanilla. Mix it all up and then add the flour, one cup at a time, and beat until the batter is smooth and has no lumps.
Pour the batter into the pans and bake at 325 degrees F. for 45 to 50 minutes. (The cakes should be golden brown on top.) Cool in the pans on a rack for twenty minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the pans to loosen the cakes. Then turn them out on the rack.
After the cakes are completely cool, wrap each one in plastic wrap, sealing tightly. Wrap these packages in foil and store them in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Take them out an hour before you serve, but don't unwrap them until you're ready to assemble the dessert.
THE STRAWBERRIES.
(Prepare these several hours before you serve.) Wash 3 boxes of berries and remove stems. (The easiest way to do this is to use a paring knife to cut off the top part of the berry.) Slice all but a dozen or so, reserving the biggest and best berries to top each portion. Taste the berries and add sugar if they're too tart. Stir and refrigerate, covered tightly.
HANNAH'S WHIPPED CReME FRAICHE (This will hold for several hours. Make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.) 2 cups heavy whipping cream
cup white (granulated) sugar
cup sour cream (you can substitute unflavored yogurt,
but it won't hold as well and you'll have to do it at the
last minute)
cup brown sugar (to sprinkle on top after you assemble
the dessert)
Whip the cream with the white sugar until it holds a firm peak. Test for this by shutting off the mixer, and "dotting" the surface with your spatula. Once you have firm peaks, gently fold in the sour cream. You can do this by hand or by using the slowest speed on the mixer.
ASSEMBLING STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SWENSEN.
Cut each Pound Plus Cake into 6 pie-shaped wedges and place on dessert plates. Top with the sliced strawberries. Put several generous dollops of Hannah's Whipped Creme Fraiche on top and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Garnish with the whole berries you reserved. Serve and receive rave reviews.
*TAPIOCA CHEESECAKE.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
FOR THE CRUST:.
2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (measure AFTER
crushing)29
stick melted butter (6 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour melted butter and vanilla extract over cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork until they're evenly moistened.
Cut a circle of parchment paper (or wax paper) to fit inside the bottom of a 9-inch Springform pan. Spray the pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, set the paper circle in place, and spray with Pam again.
Place the moistened cookie crumbs in the bottom of the pan and press them down over the paper circle. Continue to press them until they reach one inch up the sides of the pan. Put the Springform pan in the freezer for 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake.
FOR THE TAPIOCA:.
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk (I used Dole) 30
2 large eggs
cup white (granulated) sugar
cup quick-cooking tapioca (I used Kraft Minute Tapioca) 31
In a medium-size saucepan, off the heat, whisk the coconut milk and eggs together until they're a uniform color.
Add the sugar and the dry tapioca. Mix it all up and leave it on a cold burner for 5 minutes. You'll prepare the cheesecake topping while you wait.
FOR THE TOPPING:.
2 cups sour cream
cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position. It'll have plenty of time to come up to temperature while you cook the tapioca and make the cheesecake batter.
Cook the tapioca mixture over MEDIUM-HIGH heat, stirring CONSTANTLY. (Be careful - it's easy to burn.) Bring it up to the boil and then pull it off the heat, give it a couple more stirs until it's no longer boiling, and let it cool while you make the cheesecake batter.
FOR THE CHEESECAKE BATTER:.
1 and cups white (granulated) sugar
3 eight-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature
(total 24 ounces)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut extract **32
Place the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the blocks of softened cream cheese and whip it up at medium speed until it's smooth.
Add the tapioca mixture a spoonful at a time, mixing it all into the batter.
Feel the sides of the mixing bowl. If the contents aren't so hot they'll cook the eggs, add them now, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Shut the mixer off, scrape down the bowl, and then turn it back on again to add the vanilla and the coconut extracts.