Strawberry Ribbon Cake

This recipe came out of my mom's first cookbook, a Family Circle cookbook she bought as a newlywed in 1972. She's been making this wonderful cake ever since. She baked it for my last birthday, and I must say it's still my favorite cake!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 1 8-inch four-layer cake

Ingredients

• For the cake

• 3  cups  sifted cake flour
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup butter (2 sticks/8 oz.)
• 2  cups sugar
• 4  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  almond extract
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  red food coloring

• For the Strawberry Butter Cream

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
• 4  tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 1⁄3 cup  mashed fresh strawberries
• 1 (1 lb) package confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. For the cake:.
2. Grease two baking pans, 8x8x2; dust with flour.
3. Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt onto wax paper. Cream butter until soft in a large bowl; beat in sugar gradually until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fluffy again, then flavorings.
4. Stir in flour mixture, alternately with milk, just until blended. Spoon half the batter into one pan; stir food coloring into remaining batter; pour into second pan. Bake in moderate oven (375°F) 35 minutes, or until centers spring back when pressed with fingertip. Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; turn out onto racks; cool completely.
5. Split each cooled layer; put together, alternating pink and yellow, with part of the strawberry butter cream; frost sides and top with remaining.
6. For the Strawberry Butter Cream:.
7. Blend cream cheese with butter until fluffy in a medium-size bowl; beat in strawberries. Stir in 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for filling. Beat remaining confectioners' sugar into remaining mixture in bowl for frosting.