Strawberry Mouse Cake

So I wanted to make the perfect cake for a dear friend. She loves strawberry cakes so I thought it's a perfect time to experiment....actually it's always a perfect time for me to experiment!
So I liked the idea of a Tres Leche cake because it is so scrumptious and moist and I love my Chocolate Mouse Cake with chocolate Ganache frosting, and I absolutely love that fluffy white frosting! So here is the recipe for what I came up with!

The Cake Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored
gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs (room temperature)
2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour (sift the flour before measuring.)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry puree made from
frozen sweetened strawberries
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup whipping cream


To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
In a small bowl beat the egg whites only till soft peaks form and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Now fold in the egg whites from earlier.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely.
Cut each cake into two pieces so you will now have 4 cakes. In a small bowl mix the sweetened condensed cream and the whipping cream together. Pour this mixture evenly over the 4 cakes and let sit till absorbed. set aside and make the mouse

For the Mouse:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 tblsp cold water
1/2 cup strawberry puree (freshly made)
1 cup sugar
3 cups heavy whipping cream
(microwave the strawberry puree till very hot)

In a small bowl, soften gelatin in 3 cold tablespoons water. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add the softened gelatin to the very hot strawberry puree and let disolve. set aside.
In a small bowl, combine sugar and cooled strawberry puree and stir to mix well.
In a medium bowl, beat cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add the strawberry mixture, beat until stiff peeks form. Cover and chill for 4 hours

Once your mouse is set put a generous portion of mouse onto of each of 3 cakes by placing one cake down on your cake plate and placing mouse on top spread it evenly on the cake then place another cake on top of the mouse and put mouse on top of this cake, do this one more time with the third cake making sure to spread the mouse evenly between each layer, do not put mouse on the top cake. Now place the cake in the freezer for about thirty minutes. You can move on to making the frosting now.

Frosting Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon strawberry extract


In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. Frost the cake of your choice.
After the cake has been in the freezer for 30 minutes you can now frost it. Place cake in refrigerator till ready to serve or it will fall fall fall!