A Little Taste of Summer aka Strawberry Shortcake

One of my kiddos at work was celebrating a birthday last weekend and requested a strawberry shortcake that he saw in the book Cook-a-doodle-do! It's a cute little story about a relative of the Little Red Hen who is looking to bake a strawberry shortcake. The Rooster has a crowd of animals attempting to help him, including an Iguana, a Turtle, and a Potbelly Pig. The Iguana attempts to cut the butter with scissors while Pig tries to eat everything in site. Throughout the story, there are little explanations of cooking terms for kids, a great book to introduce the art of baking to younger children. At the end of the book, there is a recipe for the Roosters Strawberry Shortcake. I was going to make that specific recipe but then another version caught my eye over at Chocolate Shavings.

The birthday boy requested that his cake be in the shape of a heart and his eyes lit up when he saw his cake! It was pretty warm in the kitchen and dining room at work so we had to put the cake in the freezer to get the whipped cream to set up a bit. This affected the texture of the cake a bit but it was still fabulous! The shortbread was slightly more moist than an average biscuit but still pretty dense but sweet. The kids seemed to really like it as well though I think some were hoping for an actual cake. Either way, I plan on making this recipe again once summer comes around..rich right now I'm wondering if that will ever happen :op


Strawberry Shortcake
adapted by Chocolate Shavings

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 
• With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan. (This part I found a bit tricky because the batter was so thick)

• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

• Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.

• Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. 

 (Have you ever seen a strawberry with two hulls?)

• Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form.

• Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. 
• Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. 
• Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). 
• Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.