Strawberry-Rhubarb Cream Cake {Recipe}

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Every summer, my boys go to Cub Scout camp for the weekend with their dad. (I don't camp.) So, every year, I celebrate their return with a yummy treat. This year, we had just gone strawberry picking and had a bunch of great rhubarb, so I came up with this... a Strawberry-Rhubarb Cream Cake.

What You Need:
For the Cake
White Cake Mix (or favorite Vanilla Cake Recipe)
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 Tbsp. white vinegar (optional)

For the Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
3 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cups strawberries (chopped if large)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4-1/2 cup sugar (if necessary)

For the Whipped Cream Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
1-2 cups powdered sugar (to taste)
1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream (very cold)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
Yield: 1 8"x4" round cake - approx. 12-16 servings

Make the Cake
Bake the cake according to package or recipe. (I chose to use a white cake mix for the sake of ease. I substituted 1 1/3 cups of whole milk for the water and oil as a way to make the cake taste a little more homemade.)
Cool the cake completely.

Make the Sauce
Combine the fruit, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until juices thicken from watery to thick and gloppy.
(You can find my complete recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce here.)

Make the Icing
This is my Stabilized Whipped Cream Icing. I use the cream cheese to help keep the icing from weeping over time.
Combine the cream cheese and 1 cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl (use the whisk attachment if using a stand mixer). Turn the power up to medium, and add the entire pint of COLD whipping cream in a slow, steady stream. (Adding the cream slowly makes for a smooth icing. If you add it too quickly, it will get lumpy.)
Once all of the cream is added, you can turn the power up to high and whip until stiff peaks form.

Create the Cake
When the cake is cool, cut into four even(ish) layers.
Using an icing bag and Tip #12, create an "icing dam" - a ring of icing right around the edges of your layers - to contain the Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce. (If you don't use a dam, the filling can pour down the sides.)
I filled the first and third layers with the sauce and made one layer of icing/filling.
Cover the cake with frosting. (See my Cake Icing Tutorial here.)
Add a border (I made a shell border using Tip #32) along the top and bottom borders.
Fill in the top with more Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce.