Strawberry Tall Cake

Step 1

Reserve 6 good looking berries of equal size. Stem and slice the remaining berries and place them in a large bowl, toss in ½ cup of the granulated sugar and the Grand Marnier or orange juice. Set aside for at least 30 minutes, 60 minutes is even better.

Step 2

Whip the cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla. Use a serrated knife to slice the top from each cake to make it level. Cut each cake in half horizontally (torte) so you have a total of 4 layers of cake.

Step 3

Place one layer on a serving platter and spoon 1/3 of the sliced strawberries and some juice onto the layer. Spread the berries out so they’re level. Spread 1/4 of the cream over the berries, pushing the cream down in between the berries. Repeat with the next two layers. Reserve some of the strawberry juice for the top layer. Drizzle the remaining juice over the last layer. Frost the top of the cake with the remaining cream. You can reserve a ½ cup for decorating if you have a piping bag. Fit the bag with a star tip, pipe 12 rosettes around the top of the cake.

Step 4

Slice the reserved berries in ½ and place a berry half, seed side up, on each rosette. If you don’t have a piping bag just place the berries around the top of the cake decoratively. Wrap the sides of the cake so it doesn’t dry out and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving to allow the juices to absorb into the cake. I like the cake best after 5-6 hours in the refrigerator.