Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake
This impressive cake towers with layers of pound cake, whipped cream, strawberry jam, and fresh strawberries. It’s awesome. The jam really bumps up the strawberry flavor and makes this a messy, delicious treat.

Yield: a large 4-tiered cake; 10-12 servings

Ingredients
1 pound cake recipe to be divided into 4 round cake pans
1 cup strawberry jam
1 pint fresh strawberries
2 pints heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar to taste

Preparation

FOR THE CAKE:

I used this pound cake recipe for the cake layers but substituted fresh lemon juice instead of lemon flavoring, and vanilla extract instead of butter flavoring.

Tips:

  • To make the cake layers, I used 4 cake pans and divided the batter. It came out to a lot…you could easily halve the recipe and end up with just 2 layers. 4 layers will give you that nice height though.
  • Use parchment paper to line the cake pans! I was lazy and didn’t, and had problems with the cake sticking to the pan (even after I sprayed it with non-stick spray).
  • The amount of butter and sugar is a little daunting…You could probably cut down the sugar if you wanted to. It’s pretty sweet. Or, substitute with your favorite vanilla cake recipe, angel food cake, or even meringue layers (then it becomes a lovely pavlova).

FOR THE FILLING:

  • Strawberry Jam: I cooked down a batch of strawberries I had frozen when they were in peak season. I simmered them with sugar, vanilla bean, and a bit of lemon juice until the mixture turned jammy (or just buy strawberry preserves).
  • Fresh Strawberries: Hulled and sliced.
  • Whipped Cream: In a dry bowl, whip 2 pints of heavy cream until soft peaks form. Mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and powdered sugar to taste.

ASSEMBLE:

  1. Place a layer of cake on your serving plate.
  2. Spread an even layer of whipped cream on top. Add a few spoonfuls of jam and swirl it around evenly.
  3. Add second layer of cake.
  4. Spread an even layer of whipped cream on top. Add a layer of fresh strawberries.
  5. Add third layer of cake.
  6. Spread an even layer of whipped cream on top. Add a few spoonfuls of jam and swirl it around evenly.
  7. Add fourth layer of cake.
  8. Spread an even layer of whipped cream and top with jam and fresh strawberries to decorate. You could also cover the sides of the cake with whipped cream, or leave it exposed to see the layers. Up to you! (And, depend how much whipped cream you have left.) Enjoy!