Spring Fling Layered White Cake

My aunt emailed me a couple of weeks ago with this recipe, wondering if I would be willing to make it for my grandma's birthday. My grandma is borderline diabetic, so she tries to avoid sweets as much as possible. I have never worked with Splenda before (or cake flour, for that matter), but I was up for the challenge and dove right in.

The recipe was straightforward and easy to follow. It really was no different than making any other kind of cake. I snitched a tiny taste of the cake as I was slicing the layers (an art I am in dire need of practicing) and was pleasantly surprised by how normal it tasted. I figured you would be able to tell that it wasn't made with real sugar, but I certainly couldn't.

I was not a fan of the frosting, but then again I'm not a cream cheese kind of girl. Unless it is heavily sweetened. Or the cream cheese flavor is barely noticeable. As it was, the frosting was mostly cream cheese (1 whole pound...yikes!) and a fat free cream cheese, which I have to believe takes some of the flavor out of it. I would have much rather seen the cake paired with this pudding-based frosting (or even this pudding/cream cheese/whipped topping frosting probably wouldn't be bad).

But the true test was what all of the guests would think of the cake. I was nervous, of course, and kept my fingers crossed that it would be a hit. The verdict? It was delicious! Grandma even had two pieces. I didn't try the finished product, but all of the guests that tried it raved about how good it was. I would definitely like to try this cake again and experiment more with the filling and the frosting.

Happy 84th, Grandma!

Spring Fling Layered White Cake
(Source: Splenda)

Cake:
1 1/2 cups SPLENDA® Granular
3 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
7 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Diabetic Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup light butter, softened
1 cup SPLENDA Granular
1 pound fat-free cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apricot & Strawberry Filling:
3/4 cup reduced sugar apricot preserves
1 pint strawberries, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Set aside.

2. Make cake. Sift flour. Mix SPLENDA, flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until ingredients are blended. Add softened butter. Mix on low speed until butter is very finely distributed (about 2 to 3 minutes).

3. Add egg whites. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl. Mix on medium-high speed 1 to 2 minutes or until batter is light and well blended. Scrape sides of bowl. Add buttermilk and extracts. Mix on medium speed until blended.

4. Pour cake batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 20 to 25 minutes or until edges of cake appear slightly dry. Allow cake to cool in pans 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks until ready to ice.

5. Prepare Icing. Beat softened butter and SPLENDA briefly in a medium sized mixing bowl (until SPLENDA is just incorporated). Add cream cheese. Mix until lump free (about 1 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl and add vanilla. Mix well.

6. Assemble cake. Slice cooled cake layers in half. Using a serrated knife slice cakes in half horizontally, to create 4 cake layers.

7. Place 1 cake layer on cake stand or plate. Spread 1/3 of the preserves over the cake layer. Top with 1/3 of the strawberries. Repeat process until all layers are assembled.

8. Ice cake.

Makes 18 (1/2-inch thick slice) servings.