Strawberry Shortcake is the quintessential Easter treat with my family. Fresh and sweet, it has the flavors of Springtime mixed in.
The Perfect Springtime Treat!
This cake for this Strawberry Shortcake recipe is an old-fashioned hot-milk sponge cake from one of my grandmother’s reliable cookbooks. Traditional shortcake recipes produce a cake that is more like a Southern biscuit, which can be a little bready. I like sponge cake for Strawberry Shortcake as it is tender and soaks up all of the lovely flavors very quickly.
I also love this hot-milk sponge cake recipe because the ingredients are items that I usually have in the pantry or fridge. Fancy ingredients and a special trip to the supermarket are not required. You can whip up this cake in less than 30 minutes and impress your guests with what a kitchen whiz you are!
As this is a sponge cake, you shouldn’t grease the baking pan. Sponge cakes get their light texture from the air whipped into the eggs. As the sponge cake bakes, the batter “crawls” up the side of the baking pan as the air in the eggs expands. The “stickiness” of the metal or ceramic baking pan helps the batter rise. If the pan is greased, then the batter would have no traction for pulling itself up. Avoid lining your pan with parchment paper as well for the same reason. And don’t spray your baking pan with food release either.
Double Strawberries!
This Strawberry Shortcake recipe has a double layer of strawberries. Half of the fresh strawberries are macerated with sugar which produces a lovely strawberry syrup to pour over your sponge cake. Then, you top with whipped cream and more fresh strawberries. The strawberry syrup-soaked cake is absolutely delectable!
I opted to top this cake with unsweetened whipped cream because Eastertime can be full of chocolate candy treats. But if you like, you can sweeten the whipped cream with 2 tbsp. of sugar (25g) while you are whipping it. But really, I never miss the sugar in whipped cream. I hope you enjoy this Strawberry Shortcake as much as I do!
Strawberry Shortcake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
½ cup milk (120ml)
1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
1 tsp. baking powder (4g)
½ tsp. salt (2g)
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar (200g)
2 tsp. vanilla extract (10ml)
1 lb. fresh strawberries (500g)
1/3 cup sugar (66g)
2 cups heavy cream (500ml)*
¼ cup powdered sugar (31g)
Fresh mint for garnish
Instructions
Heat your oven to 350°F (176°C). Pour the milk into a microwavable bowl and heat in the microwave for 40 seconds until the milk is very warm.
Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl use an electric hand mixer to beat the eggs on high speed until the eggs are lemon colored. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Alternately fold in portions of egg mixture and the warm milk into the flour mixture, stirring to combine well. Use a rubber spatula for stirring the ingredients together instead of an electric mixer. Stir in the vanilla.
Pour the mixture immediately into an ungreased 9” x 9” (23cm x 23cm) square baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30m minutes, until a toothpick come out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. To prevent this sponge cake from falling while it cools, turn the pan with the cake still in it face down on the cooling rack. After 10 minutes, remove the cake from the pan and allow the cake to cool completely face side up on the cooling rack.
Meanwhile, prepare the strawberries by rinsing them well and removing the stems. Chop half of the strawberries (250g) and place in a bowl. Add the 1/3 cup (66G) of sugar. Stir and press the strawberries so that they release the juice. Allow to soak in the sugar for at least 10 minutes.
When the cake is completely cool and you are ready to serve, whip the heavy cream for the topping. Slice the remaining strawberries also. Sift the powdered sugar over the top of cake. Spoon the sweetened strawberries over the top of the powdered sugar, then pour over any strawberry juice that has collected in the bowl. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with freshly sliced strawberries and sprigs of fresh mint. Serve immediately.
Notes
*If desired, sweeten the cream with 2 tbsp. sugar (25g) before whipping.
Love this, Melissa. I actually have an old quiche recipe you gave me when we were in high school and I make it a lot. So good.
Lol i bet it is the same recipe Shelley! I’ve been using hte same one. since I bought the booklet and quiche dish at Broadway Hardware back in the day! I love that you saved it! Hugs to you dear Shelley! xo