Strawberry Shortcake!

Omg! I haven't posted in forever. Holidays + Work = No time for fun and cookery. :( But it's January! Yay! I have free time again! :D So in my New Year's plan to really dedicate myself to Pastry in 2013, I have the first bake of the year:

Strawberry Shortcake!

This cake originally was going to be this recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake, but as there apparently is no Rhubarb in California in the Winter, I had to improvise. Lol. The result was super delicious.  

Recipe and more photos under the cut! Enjoy! :)

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake:

• 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 Large Eggs
• 2 cups Flour
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• Zest of 1/2 a Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For the Filling:

• 6 ounces of Frozen Strawberry slices (I used a package of these Dole cups.)
• 16 ounces of Fresh Strawberries, trimmed and sliced
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup of Water

For the Whipped Cream:

• 2 1/2 cups Whipping Cream
• 1 tablespoon Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° (I did mine at 325°, because my oven is blah). Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with butter, dust with flour and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and cream.

4. In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the 1 cup of sugar and cream together.

5. Add half the flour mixture and half the egg mixture to the creamed butter and beat until combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg mixture.

6. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and beat the batter on medium-high speed for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and spread the top evenly.

8. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes (until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top sprigs back to the touch). Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

9.  While the cake bakes and cools, make the filling: Combine the Frozen Strawberry Slices with the 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small/medium saucepan.

10. Bring to a simmer while stirring/mashing the strawberries until the mixture cooks down into a thick puree (about 20 to 25 minutes).

11. Cool mixture completely and mix in half of the Fresh Strawberries.

12. When ready to assemble the cake, make the whipped cream: Mix cream and sugar in a frozen bowl and whisk (or beat with electric mixer) until stiff peaks form.

13. To assemble the cake: Take a serrated knife and slice the cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half on the cake stand, cut-side up. Spread with half of the whipped cream, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge of the cake and top with the Strawberry puree. Place the top of the cake, cut-side down, over the strawberry/whipped cream filling. Spread the remaining whipped cream over top, going to the edge of the cake. Garnish with the remaining sliced strawberries.

PICTURES! 

All the Ingredients:

The unbaked cake:

The baked cake:

Strawberry syrupy goodness, simmering away:

MORE STRAWBERRIES!

Halfway there:

And now we have. . . a cake!

I love how bright and fresh this cake looks.

I was so happy with the way this turned out. I'd never even eaten Strawberry Shortcake before. I didn't realize it's more like dough than batter and comes out with a delicious, crunchy cookieness around the edges. It is very buttery and rich, but not very sweet. Especially if you make the whipped cream with as little sugar as I do. I wanted to taste Strawberries and Cream, rather than strawberries and white sugar. And the lemon zest and fresh strawberries cut the richness very nicely. It is a very well balanced cake and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. It is also quite a lot of cake. Lol. I had to take some to work today and that made for some very happy coworkers. :) 

I'll definitely make this again
(hopefully when I find some rhubarb, cause that does sound good!)

Thanks so much for reading!

- Christine Frankenstein