Florida Strawberry Celebration Cake

Ingredients

Preparation

Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with non-stick spray. Combine butter and sugar in electric mixer with paddle attachment and cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla and orange zest. In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder; add alternatively with wet ingredients until combined. Add milk and mix until batter is smooth (be careful not to over mix).

Evenly divide the cake batter into pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center is clean. Remove and allow to cool. Once the cakes have cooled, carefully remove and use long knife to evenly cut each cake in half horizontally (creating 4 equally sized layers).

Frosting

Combine softened butter and cream cheese with orange zest. Mix on low until blended, add vanilla, powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly

Separate frosting into two even batches, using one batch to spread between each layer of cake. Use remaining batch to frost the sides and top of cake. Apply thinly sliced strawberries in a circular pattern to the top of the cake. Keep cake covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. When ready to serve, dust lightly with sifted powdered sugar.