Micah A. Leal
Crunchy cornflakes and vanilla wafers add a fun layer of texture and flavor to this whimsical strawberry cake. Standing 5 layers tall and evenly layered with a fluffy cream cheese frosting and a vanilla milk drizzle, this cake will turn heads and satisfy any childlike sweet tooth.
How to Make It
Step 1
Make the Strawberry Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a standard-size rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Combine flour, cornmeal, gelatin, baking powder, and salt in a bowl with a fork. Set aside.
Step 2
Cream together butter and sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add sour cream and combine for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients and mix together until just combined, being sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Pour cake batter onto prepared baking sheet and spread evenly to edges. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely in pan.
Step 3
Make the Crunchy Crumble: In a food processor, blitz the wafer cookies and cornflakes until they become a rough crumble, with some larger pieces of cookie and cornflake remaining.
Step 4
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat together butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes on medium-high. Add powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low until incorporated and then increase the speed to medium-high until the frosting is glossy, about 3 minutes.
Step 5
Prepare the Cake Drizzle: Mix together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 6
Assemble the Cake: Use the cake ring to cut out 4 circles of cake from the sheet pan. Set aside. Place the cake ring in the center of plate that will fit into your freezer. Place the acetate cake collar inside the cake ring so that it lines the perimeter of the cake ring. Press some of the scraps of cake from the sheet pan inside the cake ring, making a “layer” out of cake scraps (only use enough scraps to make a layer as thick as the cut out layers). Sprinkle 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the Cake Drizzle across the surface of this layer. Cover evenly with 1/5 of the frosting. Sprinkle generously with some of the Crunchy Crumble. Place one of the cut out layers on top and repeat the process of sprinkling the Cake Drizzle, spreading the Frosting, and covering with Crunchy Crumble. Do this 2 more times with remaining ingredients. Finally, place the last cake layer on top. Cover with Cream Cheese Frosting and decorate with additional vanilla wafers and cornflakes.
Step 7
Place cake in the freezer for at least 8 hours. Remove cake from cake ring and acetate 3 hours prior to serving, wrapping the cake in plastic wrap and allowing to thaw in the refrigerator.
