Strawberry Shortcake Cake

So, I had a bunch of strawberries that needed to be used and this cake looked good, so I made it. And it was good. Soooo good. I LOVED this cake. I ended up inviting all my friends over to eat it with me because it's not one that will last a long time in the fridge. So they all came over and we sat around eating cake and chatting and it was a most perfect afternoon. And this cake made it all possible.

The cake portion reminded me a lot of the German cakes my mom used to make growing up. It's very dense and moist and so delicious. Then of course, strawberries make everything better. I wanted mine to be more like strawberry short cake and I don't like super sweet frostings so I substituted my very favorite Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting for Pioneer Woman's frosting and I found this cake to be truly heavenly.

I'm not going to lie... the cake part is a bit finicky. A LOT of the commenters on Pioneer Woman's site said that it fell in the middle and even mine sank a little bit in the center. My sister made it a week later and hers sunk a lot in the middle. I'm not sure what the secret is, but luckily, you're topping it and filling it with strawberries so you can hide most of the damage. Or maybe you luck out and it doesn't sink at all. Even with a slightly sunken middle though, this cake was divine.

Frosting:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, slightly softened (but not TOO soft!)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, well chilled

1. In a small bowl, whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, cream the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt until well combined and smooth.

3. Fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate a couple minutes to allow it to set.