Recipe - Strawberry-Rhubarb Courting Cake

FOR CAKE
1 cup Unsalted butter; room
temperature (2
; sticks)
1 cup Plus 8 tablespoons sugar
4 Eggs
3 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 Three fourths cup All purpose flour
4 teaspoon Baking powder
2 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Salt
One fourth cup Milk
1 One half cup Chilled whipping cream
Powdered sugar
1 Basket strawberries; stemmed
(1pint)

FOR COMPOTE
Makes about 3 One half cups
4 cup Rhubarb slices; (about 1
generous
; pound)
; (1/2inchthick)
One half cup Sugar
2 tablespoon Water
1 pack Frozen cut or sliced up sweetened
strawberries; thawed
(16ounce)
One half teaspoon Vanilla extract
One half teaspoon Ground nutmeg

To Make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9inchdiameter cake pans with 1
1/2inchhigh sides. Line bottoms with parchment. Using electric mixer,
beat butter until light. Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until
fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Sift flour,
baking powder, 1 teaspoon nutmeg and salt into medium bowl. Fold into
butter mixture. Gently mix in milk.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until firm to touch about
30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto
racks and cool completely.

Split each cake into 2 layers, using serrated knife. Combine cream, 6
tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon nutmeg in bowl. Beat
to stiff peaks. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on platter. Spread with
Three fourths cup compote, then 1 cup cream. Repeat layering with 2 more cake layers,
compote and cream. Top with last cake layer, cut side down. Cover cake and
chill 1 hour. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Dust with powdered sugar. Arrange berries atop cake. Serve, spooning some
of remaining compote over each slice.

To Make Compote:

Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan. Bring just to
boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook just until rhubarb is tender, about 5
minutes. Remove from heat; mix in berries, vanilla and nutmeg. Chill until
cold. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Serves 10.

Bon Appetit May 1993

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