Habeebah Hasan of Durham placed first and won $500 in the N.C. State Fair Luscious
Layer Cake Home Chef Challenge with her strawberry lemonade-inspired triple layer cake. This was Hasan’s first time competing in the cooking challenges at the fair. She is also a preschool teacher for Bright Horizons.
Second place and a $300 prize went to Somie Baxley of Raleigh for her Midnight Hazelnut Dream Cake. Third place and $200 went to Heidi Lin of New Hill for her Dark Chocolate Bourbon Salted
Caramel Espresso Layer Cake.
The winning recipe follows:
Strawberry Lemonade-inspired triple layered cake
Cake
Ingredients:
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 5 teaspoons oil
• 8 eggs
• 7 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease cake pans with butter, line the bottom with parchment paper.
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Beat eggs for 30 seconds on medium speed, or until fully combined.
With the beater still going, pour in the sugar slowly. Turn the speed to high and beat for seven minutes until tripled in volume and white.
Heat milk and butter in the microwave for 1.5 minutes or until fully melted and hot (this can be done over the stove top as well, just be sure the milk mixture does not boil.)
After the butter and sugar is finished beating, turn the speed to medium and add 1/3 of the flour. After the flour is fully combined add another 1/3. Once fully combined add the remaining flour.
Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into a bowl. Give it a good mix. Scoop ½ of the egg-flour mixture and
pour it into the hot milk mixture. Mix well.
With the mixer on low, slowly add milk mixture back into the remaining egg-flour mixture. Continue mixing on low until combined. Once fully combined, immediately stop the mixer.
Scrape down the sides and pour batter into pans. Consider using a scale to ensure that each cake pan was getting the same amount of batter.
Bang each cake pan on the counter three times.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let it cook in the pans for 20 minutes and then gently flip them out of the pans and onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Frosting
• 2 cups butter
• 7 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions:
Beat the softened butter on medium speed for a minute or until light and airy.
Turn the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Wait until the powdered sugar is fully combined with the butter before adding more. Continue until all the powdered sugar is combined.
Add the vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons of heavy cream. After combining, turn the mixer on high speed and beat for 6 to 7 minutes.
Strawberry Filling
• 1 cup water
• 2 ½ cups frozen strawberries
• ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
Add strawberries, sugar and water into a medium-sized saucepan.
Cook on medium heat until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Take off the heat and immersion blend until smooth. Put back on the heat and cook for another 5
minutes.
Cool before use.
Lemon Curd Filling
• 1 ½ cup lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup lemon zest
Instructions:
Add all ingredients into a pan. Cut the butter into small chunks.
Mix very well.
On low heat, stir until butter is melted.
Turn the heat up to medium and continue to stir until the mixture becomes thick..
Take off heat and let cool.
Candied Lemons (use as garnish):
• 1 large lemon
• 3 cups of water
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• Water and ice for ice bath
Instructions:
Thinly slice lemons.
Bring water to boil and add lemons.
After 2 minutes remove the lemons and place them into an ice bath.
In a saucepan, add the sugar and 3 cups water.
Bring to a boil, add lemons
Boil for 20 minutes.
Remove lemons and place them onto a drying rack.
Let dry for 24 hours or until hard.