Strawberry Shortcake

The strawberry shortcake assembly line.

The strawberry shortcake fundraiser for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Food Ministries was a success thanks to the volunteers who made it, those who purchased it and a foolproof recipe from my friend and fellow volunteer Linda.

When I was trying to decided what recipe to use (I needed a simple recipe that could be multiplied and would be easy to serve), Linda brought her Southern Living Cookbook to show me her favorite recipe. Just looking at the cookbook and recipe, there were telltale signs that it was the one for our fundraiser.

Linda's treasured cookbook.

The best strawberry shortcake recipe. When I'm not making shortcake for a crowd, I'd like to assemble the cake like the one in the book. Linda says it's a cake that always impresses her guests.

For one, the cookbook opened right to the strawberry shortcake page which let me know it was the most used recipe in the book. And two, the page was spattered which is a definite sign of a hit recipe.

Perfect looking cookbooks don't impress me one bit because that means nothing was ever made from them. I prefer cookbooks with worn spines, torn pages and notes scribbled in the margins because that means they have the best recipes.

We made nine hotel pans of shortcake, each filled with a double recipe. The resulting shortcake was a wonderful combination of a biscuit and a cake. It held up against the juicy strawberries and it had just a hint of nutmeg which I thought was a nice addition.

The Southern Living recipe calls for beating egg whites, brushing them onto the top of the shortcake and then adding a sprinkle of granulated sugar just before baking. Linda says this step adds a nice sweet crunch to the top of the shortcake. Because of a shortage of time though, we decided to skip the egg whites and just added a sprinkle of sugar. Our shortcut worked well but I still would like to make the recipe again using the egg whites.

Here's the original recipe from Southern Living:

Strawberry Shortcake
1 quart strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened and divided
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
dash nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs separated
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
whole strawberries

Combine sliced strawberries with 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar. Stir gently and chill 1 to 2 hours. Drain.

Butter two 9-inch cake pans with 1/2 tablespoon butter each; set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.  Cut in remaining butter until it resembles coarse meal.

Combine milk, egg yolks. Beat well.  Add to flour mixture and stir with fork til soft dough forms.

Pat out dough evenly into greased cake pans. The dough will be sticky so moisten fingers with water as necessary to help. 

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.  Brush surfaces of dough with egg whites and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until layers are golden brown. The layers will be thin.

Beat whipping cream until foamy, add powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form. 

To assemble:
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and top with half of the whipped cream. Arrange half of the sliced strawberries on top.

Repeat the procedure by topping with the second layer, adding whipped cream (reserve a bit for the top of the cake) and the remaining berries. Add the reserved whipped cream to the very top and garnish with whole strawberries.

Strawberry Cream Cake

Strawberries and cream are one of my favorite flavor combinations.

How can you not like strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream or even toast with cream cheese and strawberry jam?

So to honor this perfect duo of flavor I created this Strawberry Cream Cake.

I baked two layers of my favorite white cake, soaked them with sweetened strawberries and coated it with a lightly sweetened cream cheese and cream frosting.

The cake turned out pretty and was loved by my dinner guests. A plus is that you can make this cake anytime of year. I used frozen sliced and sweetened strawberries.

Strawberry Cream Cake

For the cake:
1 cup shortening
4 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
6 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups milk
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and line with parchment two 8-inch round pans that are at least 4-inches deep. Combine the shortening, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond extract.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the milk and beat for 2 minutes. Add the four unbeaten eggs and remaining 1/2 cup of milk, beat for 2 more minutes.

The batter divided among the two pans.

Pour the batter evenly into the two pans and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

To assemble you need:
24 oz. frozen sliced and sweetened strawberries, defrosted
One of the cake pans cleaned and lined with plastic wrap
Cream cheese and cream frosting

Use a serrated knife to cut one of the cake layers in half.

Put one of the halves, crumb side up in the lined cake pan. Spread 1/3 of the strawberries over the layer and be sure to drizzle on 1/3 of the juice.

Top with the other half of the cake layer crumb side down. Press the cake down using your hand or the back of a spoon.

Spread 1/3 of the strawberries and juice over the top of the cake layer.

Use a serrated knife to cut the final cake in half and put half of the cake crumb side up in the pan.

Drizzle the final 1/3 of the strawberries and juice over the cake and top with the last half of cake crumb side down.

Press this down and cover with plastic wrap.

Put the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the cake layers firm up.


Invert onto a cake stand or plate and frost with Cream Cheese and Cream Frosting.

Chill the cake for at least 2 hours before serving.


Cream Cheese and Cream Frosting:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Whip the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Finally add the heavy cream and whip for 2 to 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Fresh Strawberry Macarons

As I've worked on perfecting the French macaron, I've discovered that reducing the sweetness of my fillings better compliments the macaron shells.

My original strawberry macaron recipe calls for reduced-sugar strawberry preserves but after experimenting, I've found I should reduce the sugar even more. The solution is to make my own strawberry preserves using fresh berries.

It really doesn't take much time. Just simmer two cups of diced berries in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of sugar. Let it cool and it's ready to be whipped into cream cheese for a light and fresh tasting filling.

I'm making these for my niece Nathalie's high school graduation picnic this weekend. I hope she likes them.

Fresh Strawberry Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
Pink food coloring

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts. Add the coloring.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.
While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Macarons waiting to be baked. After baking, the color of the macarons will become lighter so be sure to use enough coloring.

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Fresh Strawberry Filling.

Macarons after baking. Notice the lighter color.

Fresh Strawberry Filling
2 cups diced strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

Diced fresh strawberries.

Strawberries after being simmered the a bit of sugar. Yum!

In a saucepan, combine strawberries and sugar. Cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes or until the mixture is thick and the strawberries begin to fall apart. Use a fork to break up the strawberries even more.

Transfer to another bowl and let cool completely. You can refrigerate the berries to speed up the process.

In stand mixer, whip the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the strawberries and vanilla and whip again until fully incorporated. You may need to chill the filling to firm it up before piping between the macarons.

Use a piping bag to fill the macarons.