Mekada (Russian Layer Cake)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 8 ounces fat-free cream cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 12 ounces whipped cream (about 1½ cups)

Topping:

• Fresh strawberries, sliced

Instructions

To make the cake:

1. 1
   In a large mixing bowl, mix together the heavy cream, sugar, eggs, baking powder, and salt with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined (do not beat). Fold in the flour 1 cup at a time until you have a homogeneous dough. The dough will be moist and sticky.
2. 2
   Pour about 1 cup of batter at a time into a large nonstick skillet, set over medium to medium-high heat, and cook into pancakes. You should have 4 pancakes total. Set aside.

To make the filling:

3. 1
   In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla extract, and sugar until well combined and slightly fluffy. Mix in the whipped cream by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined.

To assemble the cake:

4. 1
   On a cake stand or plate, layer the pancakes with about ½ cup of the filling spread in between each layer and on top. Arrange fresh strawberry slices on top and serve.