Strawberry Basket Cake

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in sour cream, orange juice, orange peel and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients and beat until well blended. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops.

   Step 2

   Bake cakes until light golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 28 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 30 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

   Step 3

   Meanwhile, hull and slice 1 basket strawberries. Place in medium bowl. Add preserves and 2 tablespoons sugar; toss to blend. Let stand at room temperature until juices form, about 2 hours.

   Step 4

   Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Top with sliced berry mixture in even layer. Spread 1 3/4 cups Whipped Crème Fraîche over berry mixture. Top with second cake layer, flat side down, pressing slightly. To make basket weave, spread 1 1/4 cups Whipped Crème Fraîche over top and sides of cake; then follow directions in the box at right. Or to frost simply, spread all of Whipped Crème Fraîche over top and sides of cake. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.) Mound remaining whole berries in center of cake.

2. How to Pipe a Basket Weave

   Step 5

   1. Using a ruler to measure and a skewer to mark, draw vertical lines at 3/4-inch intervals on sides of frosted cake. Fit a pastry bag with a plain round tip; fill with 1 cup frosting. Pipe a vertical cord of frosting from top to bottom of cake over one drawn line.

   Step 6

   2. Using another pastry bag fitted with a basket-weave tip and filled with 2 cups frosting, pipe a short horizontal ribbon across cord, extending ribbon from the drawn line to the left of the cord to the drawn line on the right. Repeat, piping horizontal ribbons down the length of the cord, leaving a space between ribbons that is the same width as the ribbons.

   Step 7

   3. Pipe another vertical cord over the next drawn line. The cord should touch the end of the adjacent ribbons.

   Step 8

   4. Pipe short horizontal ribbons over second cord to fill the spaces between ribbons on the first cord. (Start each ribbon at the edge of—but don’t cover—the first vertical cord. Pipe ribbon over second cord, ending at next drawn vertical line.) Repeat, alternating between piping ribbons and cords to finish basket weave.

   Step 9

   5. Fit another pastry bag with star tip; fill with 1 cup frosting. Pipe frosting around top edge of cake.