Bon Voyage Cake

I called this Bon Voyage cake as this is the last cake that i made before i went for family vacation - cruising to Alaska, which is in fact our first cruising experience.  So hey, Bon Voyage!

It is a basic yellow cake layered with strawberry jam.  Strawberry jam again?  Oh ya, simply because this is my favorite home made jam and my fridge always have a jar of it.  Whenever it finished, i will make again as this jam come in handy with the bread that i made weekly.   ;)

For the first time, i used the lemon cream cheese frosting for a cake.  I used this frosting for cupcake before, but not on a cake.  I always wonder if cream cheese frosting will go well on a cake.  Well, it tasted good, especially when you're already bored with buttercream frosting like me.  However, it is not easy to frost a cake with cream cheese frosting as the frosting tends to be a bit runny as compared to buttercream (am not sure if this is only for my case..).  I have to do it real quick and put it in the fridge immediately to let the frosting settle down.  It was indeed a challenge for me...particularly a not pro home baker.

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (113g) butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting

• 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Steps:

1. Spray 2 8" round cake pans with non-stick vegetables and set aside
2. Preheat oven to 375F/190C
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl 
4. Sift together once more
5. Cream butter with sugar, beating until light and fluffy
6. Add the egg yolks and beat together
7. Beat in the sifted dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and vanilla
8. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, fold into the batter
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25mins or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
10. Let it cook for about 10mins before removing it from the pan.  Allow to cool completely on a wire rack prior to frosting.

Meantime, prepare for the frosting:

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a mixer bowl until smooth
2. Add in the sugar and lemon juice, beat until fluffy

Note:

• If the frosting is too runny/thin, add more powdered sugar

Cake Recipe Source: Everyday cake by D.Rattray