4th of July Sorbet Cake

I wanted to make a special Red White and Blue cake for Independence day but every recipe I came across has the addition of artificial colors. I was thinking about and ice cream cake with blueberry and strawberry ice creams but then I realized those would turn out pink and lite purple...so I decided to go for sorbets instead! Paired with a moist white cake and a vanilla whipped cream frosting and topped with blueberries and strawberries it turned into a lovely red, white and blue(ok well technically purple, but whose nitpicking LOL) cake without adding dyes!

Cake First:

You can use any white cake recipe you like but I love this one!

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour*

1-1/2 cups sugar

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup milk

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 egg whites, at room temperature

*Even if it says pre-sifted, sift it again! Then measure it by spooning it gently into the measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife.

If you do not have cake flour a substitute for this recipe is 2 cups all purpose flour and 1/3 cup cornstarch, sift together twice then measure out the 2 1/4 cups.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9" round layer cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; set aside.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixer bowl. Add butter, milk and vanilla.

Beat on slow speed until blended. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add UNBEATEN egg whites , and beat two minutes longer at medium speed.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until cake is light golden brown and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool 15 minutes in pans, then carefully remove layers from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Sorbets:

Strawberry:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/4 cup lime juice

3 TB corn syrup

3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

In sauce pan over medium heat combine sugar and water. Heat and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened(about 5 minute or so)

Set aside and allow to cool completely

In a food processor puree strawberries and lime juice(strain to remove seeds if desired) add cooled sugar syrup and corn syrup and mix well.

Pour into your ice cream maker and proceed with manufacturers instructions

Place in a bowl and set in freezer and proceed to next sorbet

Blueberry:

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 cups blueberries

3 TB lemon juice

2 TB corn syrup

Proceed as directed with the strawberry sorbet.

When everything is made and the cakes are cooled we can go to assembly...

Clean and spray your cake pans with a little cooking spray, line with parchment paper and return cooled cakes to the pan.

On one spread the strawberry sorbet(softened to spreadable if it has been in the freezer for awhile) and on the other the blueberry sorbet.

Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Make Frosting:

this one is a little different then I normally do for ice cream cake but since I wanted it just plain white I came up with this.

4 oz cream cheese(I used Neufchâtel for a lower fat content)

1/4 cup white sugar(more or less to your sweetness preference)

1.5 tsp vanilla(clear if you have it!)

1 pint heavy cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy, switch to whisk attachment and slowly add in heavy cream, whip until stiff peaks form

Remove cakes from freezer and take out of the pans, remove parchment paper and stack cake side down.

Take a spatula and spread the center layer of sorbet upwards to fill in the crack a little.

Frost quickly with the whipped cream frosting and decorate with fresh blueberries and strawberries, I made a nice flag design.

Return to the freezer for at least 1 hour. Remove from freezer 15 minute prior to slicing and ENJOY!!!