a photo, finally....with strawberry shortcake

Last weekend for my soon-to-be mother-in-law's birthday, I made a strawberry shortcake. this incredibly easy strawberry shortcake recipe to be exact. It tasted as great as it looked. I've actually never made or even eaten a strawberry shortcake before, so I wasn't sure if I was making it correctly. The cake batter was heavy and thick, so I figured the batter would turn out much more like a biscuit than a cake. It did, which was a perfect texture for soaking up all the berry juice. It wasn't overly sweet and it made the most perfect dessert.

I'm also extra happy for the under $5 glass cake plate & dome that we got on clearance! Pretty as a picture!

Best Strawberry Shortcake
(from Nick Malgieri)

Filling
4 c sliced fresh strawberries
2 T sugar
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract

Shortcake
2 c self-rising flour
2 T sugar
8 T unsalted butter
1 large egg
2/3 c cream

1 8-inch pan, buttered, lined with parchment or wax paper


1. To make filling, combine sliced berries and sugar and allow to macerate, covered, in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla, cover and refrigerate.

2. For the shortcake, preheat oven to 450 degrees and set a rack in the middle level.

3. Combine flour and sugar in bowl of a food processor outfitted with the metal blade and pulse several times to mix. Cut butter into 8 pieces and add. Pulse 12 to 15 times to reduce to fine crumbs. Whisk egg and cream together and add. Pulse several times to mix. At this point the dough will be very soft. Scrape dough into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until well colored and firm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Invert from pan to a rack to cool.

4. To assemble, split shortcake and place one round on a platter. Top with half the berries and half the cream. Place second layer of shortcake on top of cream and repeat with remaining berries and cream. Serve immediately.