I love strawberry shortcake passionately. It is a fresh and simple dessert, and very easy to make. And if you do it right, it looks beautiful as well. My mom has made this terrific dessert for as long as I can remember, and it is perfect how she makes it. But knowing me, I just had to change it up. Adding a few simple spices really enhances the strawberries, and will impress your guests!
Spiced Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh strawberries
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
sugar to taste
store bought angel food cake
Preparation:
Cut green ends off of strawberries, preserving as much fruit as possible. Slice berries up any way you like (after I gut off the green, I lay them flat on that end and slice downward). Dump these into a bowl. Sprinkle sugars and spices over berries, and mix well. This will need to sit for at least a couple hours, and up to 5 or 6 hours max. Don't be worried if the berry/sugar mix seems too dry, when they sit, the juice comes out making a nice sauce. Put this bowl in the fridge, covered, until you are ready to assemble the dessert. Stir occasionally (every half-hour or so).
Once everybody's dinner has settled, get the strawberries and cream out of the fridge, and get the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla ready to go. Pour the cream, vanilla, and cinnamon into a mixing bowl (or your Kitchenaid mixing bowl), and start whipping it up! Start slowly, and increase speed as the cream thickens. Your goal is to have relatively stiff peaks.Add sugar a tablespoon at a time as you mix, tasting it after it is mixed in. You want it to be sweet, but not too sweet, as the strawberries have a lot of sugar. Once the cream is whipped and sufficiently sweet, you are ready for assembly!
Slice the angel food cake into generous slices, and lay sideways on individual plates. Scoop a mound of strawberries on top of the cake. Drizzle some of the sauce from the bottom of the bowl on top. Top this off with a cloud of freshly whipped cream, and another slice of strawberry. Drizzle a little more of that yummy sauce around the edge of the plate, and voila! You have made an easy, inexpensive, and very impressive dessert!
Enjoy!
** I was just sitting here thinking (here comes trouble!), and I decided you could easily do this as a trifle as well. Just chop the cake into chunks instead of slices, and layer the cake chunks, strawberries, and whipped cream into a pretty glass bowl. This would be excellent at summer barbecues!
