Recipes & Food Styling

Strawberry Therapy!

Strawberry Shortcake!

Got a little bit behind on my posts about Grandma’s “Cake of The Month” each month this year, and getting caught up with this Strawberry Shortcake post just before the end of June!

Strawberry Shortcake was Grandma’s “Cake of The Month” for June 2014. When we planned out each month at her kitchen table in 2013, June seemed like the perfect month for Strawberry Shortcake since my mom and dad always celebrated “Strawberries & Wimbledon” on July 4th and we thought it would be good to get the recipe to everyone in time to line up ingredients!

Last weekend for strawberry picking here, and got rained out, but went ahead and made this with strawberries from Jewel.

Tried to replicate the most amazing Strawberry Shortcake I’ve ever had- at Gibson’s on Rush Street in Chicago. It’s a basic shortcake recipe, and special with a crusty layer of sugar crystals on top! I also baked it with a few tiny pats of butter on top.

For the cream, I added fresh-squeezed juice from one lemon, and it makes it taste SO good!

Strawberry Shortcake

2 Pounds strawberries, cleaned and quartered

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 Tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons sugar crystals

Fresh mint (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a potato masher, smash strawberries with 2 teaspoons sugar. Save some berries for garnish and for crushing and putting into cream. Set aside berries to rest in their own juices and sugar while you make the cake.  

In a large bowl, mix together 5 teaspoons sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add cream and mix together with your hand or a spoon. Be careful not to overly mix the batter.

Generously butter the inside of a cake pan. Place batter in cake pan. Cover with sugar crystals and top with tiny pats of butter. 

Bake until golden brown all around (about 25 to 30 minutes).

Let cake cool before assembling.  

Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

4 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Juice from 1 large lemon

Using a hand-held mixer or Kitchen Aid, beat all ingredients until thick. Add in a few crushed strawberries and beat for about one more minute.  

Place in refrigerator while cake cools.