Not strawberry SHORTCAKE, strawberry HOT MILK cake

It is that time of year, ragazzi, when the berries have arrived.  And they are red, sweet, and delicious.  Yes, the time that, let us face it, all locovores wait for:  THE STRAWBERRIES ARE HERE!!!
Indeed, we have had ramps, we have had dandelion greens,  nettles, rhubarb, and we have had fun with them.  But strawberries....   Do not ever say it is "just fruit," as Annalena will smite you.  Not inexpensive, but picking strawberries is hard work.    Do not equate the time that you spent on the "pick your own" farm one afternoon with picking them for a living.  They are called, in Spanish  "frutta di diabolo" for a reason:  you never stand up, and you bend, LOW.

OK, enough about the philosophy of the fruit:  we are going to cook today, and first, we are going to be blunt:  we all LOVE strawberry shortcake.  Now, Annalena would like a show of hands:  how many of you have made shortcake in the last year?

Hmmmm.  OK, now, how many of you have instead, sliced and sweetened the berries, and then poured them over one of those ghastly greasy prepared "things," and served it forth? 

It's ok, it's ok.  You're in the privacy of your own home.  And shortcake is HARD to make.  And there is a reason that it never tastes as good when you make it at home, as it does when you get it outside.  And it is the same reason why it always seems to be more expensive than it should be.

Shortcake is, ultimately, a biscuit.  A quickbread.  And quickbreads go stale the minute you leave the room.  It's true.  Should you doubt this, make a pan of muffins, eat some, and leave the rest until the next day.  You will come around very quickly. So, too, with scones.  Have you ever wondered why, if you save half of the one you bought for breakfast for later in the afternoon, why it crumbled all over your good suit, and gave you heartburn?    This is the nature of quickbreads.  Good shortcake is made "a minute" as the French would say, or more to the English point  "when you want it."    Of course, if you have it when it comes out of the oven, it's too hot to eat.  So you have to wait.  How long?  Who knows.   And shortcake is not easy to make well.  It cannot be undermixed.  It cannot be overmixed.   So, if you find a pastry chef at a restaurant, who happens to make excellent shortcake, treat him or her well, and have it as often as you can.

For the rest of us,  here is an alternative.  "Hot milk" cakes have a long tradition in farm cultures.  They are relatively inexpensive to make, because they do not involve much butter.  As they do not involve much butter, they are not wickedly high in calories.  And as they do not have much butter, they will go stale quickly, but because they are rich in eggs and milk, they have a softer texture which dries to a firm, toastable texture, perfect for that snack if you have a sweet tooth.  And it is wonderful with the sweetened strawberries you make for shortcake of any type, and whipped cream (and Annalena is going to tell you how to make some wonderful whipped cream:  BETTER than the kind you have been making).

Shall we get ready?  Good.  Let us grease a 9x13 inch pan, and preheat our ovens to 350.    Now, into our mixing bowls, go four large eggs  (to the literalists out there, and this means you Christopher), crack them first, and do not use the shells.  Now, start mixing.  And mix longer than you think you need to. You want the eggs to be foamy.    While they are mixing, measure yourself out two cups of flour, and separately, two cups of sugar.  Also, pour a cup of milk (whole, 2 or 1%, but no skim) into a small pot, with two tablespoons of butter.    That's all you'll use here, for a really big cake.

Now, the work begins.  Remember we got those eggs foamy?  It really will take 3-5 minutes.  Now, start slowly pouring in your sugar, and beat at a high speed.  You are looking for a very pale, thick, mix.  To think of yellow mayonnaise, is not off the mark.  When you're there,  combine the flour with a TABLESPOON of baking powder, and lower the speed of the mixer.  Stir in the flour, and incorporate it well.  Turn the heat on the milk and butter, and bring it to a simmer.  When you're there, and the flour has all been incorporated, again, lower the speed of the mixer, stir in the milk and butter, and  then you've got batter.  Use a spatula to make sure you've stirred in everything and then pour it into your pan.

Get the pan into the oven, and bake for 45-55 minutes.  Annalena's cake was done, and nice and brown in 45.  Her recipe called for 60.  That would have been too long, so keep an eye on it.

While it is baking, or the night before, or  the morning of the night you are serving this,  slice up a good two quarts of strawberries.  You don't have to be precise about this.  Annalena thinks that uneven slices of the fruit taste better on the tongue.  Stir in a quarter cup of plain sugar, and a quarter cup of vanilla sugar, or a half cup of either, and let this macerate at room temperature for at least a few hours.  It is wonderful how the liquid comes out, the sugar saturates the berries and yes, it is no longer  "just fruit."

Now, if you want to boost up your whipped cream an extra notch.... put 12 ounces of heavy cream into a clean mixer bowl, with a quarter cup of sugar.  Use confectioner's if you have it around, but if you don't, plain old granular will do.    Get yourself some room temperature creme fraiche, or mascarpone, or cream cheese, or even ricotta.  You won't need more than a third of a cup.  Put that in the bowl as well, and turn your whisk attachment, to high speed.  Your cream will whip up, but it will be thick, heavy cream, not the light airy stuff you're used to. And it is stable.  So you can make this a bit ahead of time, and then assemble the cake, when you are ready.

You have enough here for at least 12 servings.  Annalena cut out big squares, and then sliced them horizontally, as if opening a book.  Pour a plentitude of strawberries onto this, and then put the cream on top, or the side, or wherever you like.

It is not strawberry shortcake, but it is wonderful.  It really, truly is.  And fess up, ragazzi, does it not seem easier than shortcake? 

And if you happen to play "strawberry fields forever," and think of John Lennon while you eat this, you will get bonus points in the great herafter.  She has this on the best of authority.