How do you prepare the fresh strawberries and keep them from making the cake soggy?

Fresh Strawberry's and Cake    

So you want to make a layered cake with strawberries, but you always have the standard problems: 

• The strawberries make the cake soggy
• the layers don’t stay together when sliced 
• or the cake tends to slide apart over night.

                   What do you do?

• Wash them with the hulls still intact and pat them dry with a paper towel.

• Let them sit on the paper towels for a little while to let any of the excess juices get absorbed.

• Dry them very well.

• Dusted the strawberries with sugar the night before - this too will create syrup and cause them to release more juices 

• To help keep the cake from getting soggy from the fruit, brush some melted jam or jelly of the same flavor or a nice compliment over the top of the layers that are to receive the fruit.

• Melt the jam in the microwave and spread on with a pastry brush

• Pipe in some pastry cream or whipped cream around the edges to form a little dam and keeps the fruit INSIDE the layers and keeps it from not seeping out of the edges.

• And my # 1 suggestion is --- Try and wait to assemble the cake till right before serving

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I have pulled out a Cake recipe that i feel might be a good choice:

2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer at low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.

Spread batter in cake pan, smoothing top. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and re-invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mascarpone-Filled-Cake-with-Sherried-Berries-242873

And a Cream Cheese Pastry Cream that i think might be an even better choice:

• 1 cup milk
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 ½ tbsp corn starch
• 6 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Combine ¾ cup of the milk and 3 tablespoon of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk the remaining ¼ cup milk into the yolk mixture. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and add a little of the hot milk to the yolk mixture to warm it, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour.

Return the custard to the stove and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly. Let the custard cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Add the cream cheese and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Using a fine sieve; strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

Beat the heavy cream over medium speed until soft peaks form. Whisk the pastry cream until smooth and fold in the whipped cream until combined.

Read More http://lateliervi.blogspot.com/2009/03/blueberry-kumquat-cream-cheese-tarts.html

Good Luck! 

(And send me cake!)