Bake Me A Cake As Fast As You Can!!!

I have never made a strawberry cake before. So when one of my friends asked me to bake her a cake, and she mentioned she liked strawberry I though it would be a good experience. I found the main recipe on Allrecipes.com and modified it ever so slightly. The results were pretty good! The cake was moist and sweet and the ganache was well balanced. I also added some dipped chocolate strawberries, and of course, rainbow sprinkles. For what dessert could be complete without the rainbow sprinkles? (Ok, maybe a few, but it makes things so much more fun!)

Super Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Ganche

2 cups white sugar
1 (3 oz) package of strawberry gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup of strawberry milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 cup of strawberry jam or preserves + extra

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour* two 9 inch round cake pans. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry jam. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 30-50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for at least 10 minutes, before removing to cool completely.

In the mean time prepare the ganache. Chop or break the chocolate into a small-medium bowl. Place the heavy cream in a small sauce pan and heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Stir until the cram and chocolate come together and the mixture looks shiny. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

When the cakes have cooled, place one on a large plate (The plate should be large enough to to hold the cake and contain any extra ganache which flows down the side of the cake). Spread the top with a thin layer of strawberry jam. Place the second cake layer on top of the first. After the ganache has cooled pour it slowly over the cake starting in the middle and allowing it to spread out and over the sides of the cake. Add sprinkles. When the cake has cooled place the strawberries around the edge and in the center.

* When baking, if you need to dust a pan for something sweet, like a cake, you can use powdered sugar instead.