Strawberry Layer Cake with Pastry Cream Filling and “White Chocolate” Covered Cookie Crumbs, PART II

Instructions

1. Cookie Crumb Garnish
2. TO MAKE THE COOKIES: Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.
3. In a pitcher measuring cup or slight bowl, stride together the agave, chia seeds, soymilk, vanilla and lemon extraact. Location aside whereas you measure the dry ingredients, or now no longer lower than 2 minutes.
4. In a huge bowl, sift together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. High-tail to mix evenly. Tumble the coconut oil in huge chunks over the flour mixture. Then, the usage of your hands, pinch the mixture between your thumb and forefingers again and again unless it comes together and the oil is fully blended into the flour. The mixture would possibly perhaps well well moreover honest peaceable seem crumbly but retain together when squeezed to your hand. (Repeat: the dough would possibly perhaps well well moreover honest peaceable NOT be the identical as a pie dough, with seen, pea-sized bits of coconut oil distributed for the length of; it can well well moreover honest peaceable all be with out pain and fully blended into the flour).
5. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and toddle effectively to mix. You ought to have a tender and sticky dough, but one who holds together.
6. Bag the dough and plot into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate unless agency, about an hour. Once agency, eliminate the dough from the plastic and verbalize on a evenly floured fragment of waxed paper or countertop and roll out to about 1/4 depart (.5 cm) thickness. Nick into rectangles about 3 x 2 inches (8 x 5.5 cm) monumental. Narrate the cookies about 1 depart (2.5 cm) apart on cookie sheets. Bag any closing dough and roll again; repeat unless all dough is old.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets about halfway through, unless cookies are deep golden brown on the perimeters. Frigid fully sooner than removing from the cookie sheets. Makes 24-30 cookies. Would be frozen: wrap in plastic and retailer in an airtight win or container in the freezer unless ready to use, as much as just a few months
8. TO MAKE THE “WHITE CHOCOLATE” COATING:Narrate all ingredients in a high-powered blender (I take advantage of a VitaMix) and mix unless perfectly tender and practically liquid; this would possibly moreover honest take a whereas, and also you’ve got to push the mixture toward the blades the usage of the tamper. When or now no longer it’s done, it can well well moreover honest peaceable be pourable and the consistency of a extraordinarily skinny pure almond butter. Employ abruptly to assign the Cookie Crumb Garnish.
9. TO MAKE THE COOKIE CRUMB GARNISH: Beget the freshly made “White Chocolate Coating” at the ready.
10. Ruin the cooled cookies into chunks and verbalize them in a food processor. Direction of unless that you simply can moreover honest have coarse crumbs. No gadgets would possibly perhaps well well moreover honest peaceable be higher than a pea. Turn the crumbs into a medium bowl.
11. Pour the fresh white chocolate coating over the crumbs in the bowl. Toss with a fork unless they initiate to clump together and plot slight balls; motivate tossing unless your total crumbs are coated. If the mixture appears to be like too wet, verbalize the bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes after which toss again; repeat unless the coating is agency and also that you simply can moreover honest have a bowl of slight clumps. Ruin apart at the side of your fingers if well-known to be optimistic that that now no longer one among the gadgets is higher than a pea. For these who is at threat of be making the garnish sooner than time, switch to a covered container and retailer in the refrigerator. Otherwise, refrigerate unless ready to use.

1. Strawberry Unfold and Final Assembly
2. Separate 2 heaping cups of berries (about 15 huge berries), picking basically the most pretty taking a take into myth ones for this motive. For these who is at threat of be making the cake now, hull and slash about 2/3 of the berries into slices; hull and quarter the diversified third of the berries (motivate the two piles separate). The slices will doubtless be old beween the cake layers and the quartered berries will doubtless be old as garnish on top. For these who is at threat of be making the cake a day or two later, don’t slash or slice the separated 2 cups (480 ml) of berries; crawl away these total, and retailer them in the fridge unless you will need them. Prick and quarter handsome sooner than you assemble the cake.
3. Hull the closing berries (every little thing but the two cups you removed) and wash effectively. Narrate berries in a blender, in batches if well-known, and purée unless liquefied. Switch the liquid to a medium pot. Squeeze in the lime juice and toddle.
4. Lift the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then decrease heat to medium-low and cook dinner, stirring generally to steer clear of scorching, unless the mixture reduces to 2-1/2 cups (600 ml) total (about half the distinctive quantity), 1-1.5 hours. Add the stevia and adjust sweetness level if well-known. High-tail in the agar and simmer for one more 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and switch the mixture to a bowl. Enable to icy unless it reaches room temperature, then switch to the refrigerator and refrigerate unless chilly (this would possibly even be agency at that point). If making ahead, retailer, covered, in the refrigerator as much as 2 days (and motivate your fresh berries in the refrigerator as effectively unless ready to use).
5. TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Relief the cake layers frozen (they are going to defrost very speedily–mine were defrosted by the time I assembled and completed photographing the cake–but or now no longer it’s famous more straightforward to assemble every little thing with frozen layers). Lift your total diversified parts to your work assign aside: the coated cookie crumbs, the pastry cream, the strawberry spread and the sliced and quartered fresh berries.
6. Measure out one cup (240 ml) of the cookie crumbs and assign aside aside for garnish. Divide the closing cookie crumbs in half.
7. Narrate one frozen cake layer on the middle of a cake platter or serving plate. Disguise the top with half the pastry cream; spread evenly with an offset spatula or the wait on of a spoon. Sprinkle with one half of the (non-garnish) cookie crumbs. Measure out 2/3 cup (160 ml) of the strawberry spread and dot the top of the cake layer with spoonfuls of it evenly over the crumbs, then spread it as evenly as that you simply can imagine to duvet the outside evenly the usage of the wait on of a spoon. Sprinkle with half the sliced fresh berries.
8. High the first layer with one more frozen layer, and repeat the toppings, first spreading with the remainder of the pastry cream, sprinkling with the diversified half of the non-garnish cookie crumbs, covering with 2/3 cup (80 ml) of the strawberry spread, and sprinkling with the diversified half of the sliced berries.
9. Narrate the closing frozen layer on top of the cake. Disguise the top with 2/3 cup (160 ml) of the strawberry spread, leaving about 1/4 depart (1 ml) of cake uncovered round the edge. Sprinkle with the quartered strawberries and the cookie crumbs you reserved for garnish. (That you would possibly moreover honest have a slight little bit of the strawberry spread left over at this point; if that is so, retailer in a jar in the fridge as much as 4 days. Or now no longer it’s huge as a jam or atop pancakes).
10. At this point, that you simply can moreover honest wait on the cake abruptly, or retailer, covered, in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours. Again chilly, from the fridge. Makes 8-10 stupendous servings. It would no longer motivate effectively, so would possibly perhaps well well moreover honest peaceable be made for an occasion with 8-10 eaters, if that you simply can imagine. . . the cake will bear moisture from the spread and can honest peaceable seem extra delight in a trifle by day two (now no longer that there would possibly be anything frightening with that. . . . ).