2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
Coconut Pecan Streusel:
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1/3 cup toasted sweetened coconut
Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sour cream (not nonfat)
Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces Cream Cheese softened
1/4 cup Reserved Batter (see instructions)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons milk
Pinch of salt
Garnish:
3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries more or less
Special Equipment:
10 inch (16 cup) tube pan
Spray all inside surfaces of a 16 cup nonstick TUBE PAN with nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR or grease and flour the inside of your pan. Set aside.* Strawberry Filling - Whisk together the cornstarch, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Add strawberries and sugar. Cook over medium low heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened and some of the strawberries have broken down (should be quite thick). Set aside to cool. Coconut Pecan Streusel - Add pecans to your food processor and pulse 3 times. Add flour, and sugar and pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle cold butter over top and pulse until the pecans are chopped and the mixture resembles small pebbles. Add coconut and pulse couple times to combine. (You may also combine in a bowl and cut butter in by hand). Set aside in the refrigerator. Cake - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy on medium high speed, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg. Mix in vanilla just until combined. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed butter mixture in thirds, alternately with sour cream in between each third. Beat until just combined. Measure out 1/4 cup batter and set aside for Cream Cheese Filling. Measure out 1 cup batter (to top cream cheese layer) and spoon the rest of the batter into the prepared pan. To your now empty mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup reserved batter, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Assemble - Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over batter and gently smooth, but do not touch the sides of the pan. Top Cream Cheese Layer with Strawberry Filling, again, not touching the sides of the pan. Spread reserved 1 cup batter evenly over filling (it will be very thin). Sprinkle evenly with Coconut Pecan Streusel then tap pan on counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake - Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees F or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (without inserting in cream cheese). Let baked cake cool on wire rack for 1-2 hours. Gently invert cake onto a baking sheet, remove pan, and invert back onto cooling rack streusel side up. Let cool to room temperature. Lemon Glaze - When ready to serve, whisk Lemon Glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl starting with just 1 tablespoon milk adding additional milk if needed to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cake and/or individual servings. Sprinkle cake with additional chopped strawberries. Store - Cover with plastic wrap/cake cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.