In an attempt to bake more, I'm vowing to make a cake of each of my coworkers' birthdays.  This is the first one.  I loved it!  I used springform pans to more easily remove the cakes after baking.  I was a bit disappointed with how thin they were at first, but the cake really plumped up when filled with berries and cream.
I used my own whipped cream recipe: Beat 1 quart of heavy cream (you heard me) with 12 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until cream forms.  Delicious! 
Source: Food Network
  • Non-stick vegetable spray, for coating the pans
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract (I omitted this)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 pints fresh strawberries
  • 1 recipe whipped cream frosting
Whipped Cream Frosting:
  • 1 teaspoon gelatin
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly coat 2 (9-inch) cake pans with nonstick vegetable spray. Line the bottoms with a circle of baking parchment.

Into a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, 3 times. In a small saucepan, bring themilk and butter to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and lemon extracts. In separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale yellow, and fluffy, and doubled in volume. While still beating, drizzle in the hot milk mixture. Fold in the flour mixture. Spread the batter in the prepared pans and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden, the center springs back when lightly pressed, and a cake tester comes out clean. Set the pans on a rack to cool. Run the tip of a knife around the edges of the cakes to loosen them, and turn them out of the pans.

Whipped Cream Frosting: In a medium bowl, mix together the gelatin and 1/4 cup of the cream. Let rest for 5 minutes to soften, then place the bowl over barely simmering water until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool to tepid. In the meantime, in a mixing bowl, whip the cream until slightly thickened. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and whip to the consistency of shaving cream. Fold 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture, then fold in the rest.

Wash and dry the strawberries. Pick out the 12 best. Stem and slice the rest. Lay the sliced berries over 1 cake, then spread a 1/2-inch layer of whipped cream on top. Place the second cake over the first. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream. Top with the 12 whole berries.
 
Dessert Time!  Tired of paying $6 a slice for this in restaurants?  Try this - I swear it's just as good. This isn't classic tiramisu as it excludes rum, mascarpone cheese and eggs, but I really didn't miss them at all (especially the fat and calories). The coffee flavor was amazing! 

Source: Everyday Food
  • Prep Time20 minutes
  • Total Time20 minutes
  • Yield Serves 6 - 8
  Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups of very strong coffee (I brewed 5 tablespoons of dark roast coffee with 1 3/4 cups of water)
  • 1 bar (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream 
  • 1/3 cup sugar 
  • 2 packages (3 ounces each) soft ladyfingers (these can be, unfortunately, hard to find - I got mine at Trader Joe's) 
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
  1. Make coffee; set aside to cool.  (I cheated and popped a few ice cubes in mine).  
  2. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with heavy cream and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Spread a few tablespoons of cream-cheese mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish. Separate ladyfingers. One by one, dip the ladyfingers in espresso until they just start to feel soft.   Don't over do it or you will end up with a soggy mess! Then arrange in bottom of dish. Spread with a third of cream-cheese mixture. Repeat twice with remaining ladyfingers, espresso, and cream-cheese mixture (can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day).
  4. Dust with cocoa just before serving. (To make this extra chocolaty, you could try dusting each layer with chocolate. 
And if you need some visual inspiration, here is an Italian chef making real Tiramisu:
http://shine.yahoo.com/video/channel-26748056/chocolate-tiramisu-27610660.html