Strawberry “shortcake”

I firmly believe everyone has a different strawberry shortcake memory. For some, sugary strawberries were paired with fluffy angel food cake, while others experienced theirs atop authentic shortcakes. Maybe the whole thing was finished with Reddi-Wip or Cool Whip, maybe you made your own whipped cream or skipped it altogether.

But for me, my Mom always made pound cake for this dessert. I truly thought this was how things were meant to be, and while that’s not technically true, I urge you to make and taste this variation. I’ve tried the others to compare and while they’re good, Mom knows best.

Make the cake: It starts with a solid foundation — a hefty and dense vanilla pound cake. I prefer to make a loaf-version because it’s more manageable, so there technically is not a full pound of each ingredient, but the sentiment is there. I was really happy with Sohla’s from Food52.

Macerate the strawberries: Weirdest word, just had to say that first, but this just means expediting the ripening process by letting the berries sit in sugary liquid. Anyways, I trim and slice one pint of fresh strawberries, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and the juice and zest from a lemon. Stir this up and let it sit in the fridge until the strawberries become exceptionally red and luscious.

Whip some cream: This can be done by hand with a whisk if you’re showing off, or with any kind of hand/stand mixer. Simply whip 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then add 1/2 TSP vanilla extract and 1-2 TBS of sugar. I like to keep this lightly sweetened since the pound cake and strawberries bring so much to the table already.

Assemble: Slice your pound cake thick and lay one piece on a plate. Scoop some of the strawberries on top and make sure to also drizzle the juice over the cake. Plop an inappropriate amount of whipped cream for your grand finale. Enjoy!