Oh Twenty First Birthdays

Twenty First Birthdays. Enough said. My best friend Rima turned 21 and I knew I had to make an amazing cake to celebrate. I am not a very big baker but when I saw this BEAUTIFUL cake I knew I had to recreate it.

Mission: low fat strawberries and cream birthday cake.

chocolate

strawberries

whipped cream

custard

pirouette cookies

angel food cake

YUM!

When you think of 21rst birthdays you probably thing of tequila shots not chocolate covered strawberries. But, this cake is the best chaser for that tequila shot. Trust me.

The cake is really simple to make. So you have no excuse not to completely impress the person you make it for. I used boxed Angel food cake mix, cool whip, fresh stawberries, Pirouette cookies, and low fat strawberry jam! The only thing I actually made was the custard! The assembling of the cake is the best part!

The trick is to spray whipped cream in between the layers to make sure they stick! You layer strawberry jam, custard, and fresh stawberries between the layers. You should have 2 round cakes cut in half.

You should have 3 layers of filling in your scrumptious cake.

Frosting can be high in calories and sugar...so I used cool whip (a low calorie whipped cream). Genius. I spread a 16oz container all over the cake and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden.

Once the frosting is harded, assemble the pirouette cookies around the cake. I used hazelnut and dark chocolate pirouette cookies but you can use whatever flavor you want!

After the cookies are placed on the side of the cake, begin filling the inside with your chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate decorations.

For the happy birthday sign: just spread a thin layer of white chocolate on wax paper and place in freezer to harden for about 10 minutes. Once the white chocolate is hard, take the semi sweet chocolate and write Happy Birthday. Then place back into the freezer to harden.

Happy Birthday Rima!

Low Fat Strawberry and Cream Birthday Cake

adapted from The Baked Bean

Cake:

follow the instructions on the Angel Food Cake box or purchase a pre-made angel food cake.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries:

6 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces of white chocolate chips
15-16 large strawberries
Put the chocolates in seperate microwave safe bowls.
One at a time, melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring each time. Heat and stir until smooth.

Pirouette Wafers:

store bought hazelnut or dark chocolate

Cool Whip:

16oz container

Custard:

Ingredients:
2 cups of half and half
1\2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks (you'll need the whites for the cake!)
3 Tbs Cornstarch
4 Tbs of unsalted butter, cold and cubed.
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Heat the half and half, vanilla extract, 6 Tbs sugar and salt in a medium pot over medium heat until it starts to simmer.

In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks, in a medium bowl, with the remaining sugar and cornstarch for about a minute.

When the half and half mixture reaches a full simmer, pour have of if into the egg mixture bowl and whisking constantly.

Return the mixture to the pot and whisk the cream over medium heat. Let the cream thicken for about 1-2 minutes. Once the cream has thickened, turn of the heat and mix in the butter until melted.

Strain the cream through a sieve over a medium bowl. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and press the wrap directly over the cream so that a skin will not form. Refridgerate until cold and set.

Use right away of refridgerate until ready to use.

Enjoy :)