Lemon Layered Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine powdered sugar and flour and set aside.
3. In KitchenAid mixer, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Mix well.
4. With mixer on high, beat in sugar, about 1 Tablespoon at a time, adding more only once the previous tablespoon has been dissolved (As you add the sugar, you should be able to hear the faint sound of the granules scraping against the metal bowl. Once you no longer hear this, the sugar has been dissolved). Do NOT scrape the sides of the bowl as you are doing this, just keep beating.
5. Beat until stiff peaks form (stiff peaks exist when you can dip a knife or spatula into the mixture and the peaks that form when you remove the utensil hold their shape firmly without the point of the peak folding or receding back into the mixture)
6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in sugar/flour mix, about ½ cup at a time. Do not over-mix; fold only until the flour mixture is combined with the egg whites mixture.
7. Pour mixture into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan and use a knife or spatula to cut through the batter to break through any air bubbles that may exist.
8. Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched. Any cracks on the surface should look dry.
9. Immediately upon removing from oven, invert the cake onto a bottle or funnel and allow it to cool completely
10. Once cake has cooled, place right-side-up and run a knife inside the rim of the cake pan. Invert cake onto serving platter. Carefully, using a sharp serrated knife, cut the cake crosswise into thirds.

Strawberry Lemon Filling

1. Reserve 9-10 whole strawberries for top of cake. With the rest, remove tops and slice. Set aside.
2. In KitchenAid, cream together cream cheese and lemon curd on medium speed until combined.
3. Gradually stir in 1 cup powdered sugar on low speed, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl
4. In separate bowl, combine heavy cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat by hand or with handheld electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. Stir whipped cream mixture into lemon/cream cheese mixture until just combined (be sure to scrape down sides of bowl)
6. Spread lemon mixture between layers and on top of angel food cake. For the bottom two layers, top with strawberry slices and use whole strawberries on top of cake.
7. Slice using sharp serrated knife and serve.