A simpler way: strawberry sponge cake

Is there anyone reading this who does not love strawberry shortcake?  Ok, now, how many of us can say that we've actually eaten AUTHENTIC strawberry shortcake.

Hmmmm.  Had to think about that, didn't you?  And you began thinking  "well, what IS authentic strawberry shortcake," which of course brings up the question, "what is shortcake?"

For folks who bake, answering that question is tricky, because it's counter intuitive.  We learn how to make short piecrust, which is essentially a crust that is so rich that it breaks into small, short flakes.  In the good old days, one of the highest compliments you could pay to a baker was to say   "my.  This crust is SHORT!"  It meant she (and it was always a she ragazzi), had mastered the art - and it's not an easy one.

Shortcake,  however, has nothing to do with short pie crust.  And try as she might, Annalena has not been able to come up with a coherent, rational explanation for the term, other than, PERHAPS, because it's cake baked in a short amount of time.    Whatever the reason, when it's made right, it's GOOD.

Annalena's favorite shortcakes are ones that are made on the spot, and are still a bit warm when they're served.  And that's where the problem comes in , ragazzi.   Generally, you have to make it "a tempo," (on the spot, so to speak), which means your guests wait, you get frazzled,  and generally, you wind up wondering  "why did I do this?"  Unquestionably, if you are in a position when you can do it right,  do it.  But for those of us who want a dessert and can't necessarily put everything down to make it, Annalena proffers this one to you.

The recipe as posted originally was called strawberry shortcake.  This is NOT shortcake, carini.  It is closer to a sponge, or a genoise.  Anytime you see a recipe that calls for beating eggs to the "ribbon" stage, as this one does, you are working with genoise.  It is easy to make - easier than shortcake biscuits - and  you can walk around bragging about how you mastered a fancy cake called genoise.  (incidentally, this is the cake that is used for those layers in petit fours.  It is a really good basic recipe to have around, because it goes with everything).  And it keeps.

So, we're going to make the cake,  prep the berries, and then talk about the cream.  This all sounds harder than it is.  Annalena's recipe said it takes an hour and a half to make this.  Annalena did it in forty minutes, and 30 of it was baking.


First, melt two tablespoons of butter, and have some more handy for when you grease the pan.  Put that into a cup and add a third of a cup of whole milk.  The hot butter should warm it, and then add a good dollop of  vanilla extract.  A tablespoon is not too much.    Put that aside.  Then, in a bowl, add a very generous cup of flour.  You actually need 1.25 cups, and if you only have a one cup measuring cup, play with the margins.  And add a heaping teaspoon of baking powder to it, and half a teaspoon of salt.  Shake this all together.

Ok, now get your mixer out.  Put in 2 large eggs, and an extra egg white.  Have about  2 cups of granulated sugar ready.    Use the whisk attachment to your mixer, and beat the egg mixture hard for about a minute.  Then, very slowly, start adding the sugar.  As you do this, the mixture will thicken, and get light, light yellow.  Keep going for about five minutes.  You're done when you can take the whisk out, and the batter drops back, sort of folding on itself like a big piece of christmas ribbon.    If you don't see that in five, go for another three.    Now, take the bowl  and add the flour mixture, and use a spatula to fold it in, gently and completely.  Dig to the bottom to make sure everything is incorporated.  This is a slow process, but slow is necessary here. when it's all finished, add that milk/butter/vanilla mixture, and stir it all together.


Get a 9 inch pan, grease it, put down some parchment (don't leave this out), and grease the parchment.  Then add the batter.  Get it into the oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  No longer than that.

While it's  baking, get your berries ready.  Get the little greenies out, and if the berries are small, leave them alone.  If they're slightly large, half them, and big ones get cut into quarters.  You want a good heavy quart, maybe more, of these, and you want a mix of berries of different sizes.  After you've got them cut up, get no more than a quarter cup of sugar, and stir it in , letting the berries macerate  (ok, stop laughing at the word.  It IS funny, the vision of macerating berries, but let's move on).   Don't refrigerate them, even if you're not making the dessert for a few hours.  Try not to prepare them more than about 3  hours before dessert time though.  The sugar crystals will pull some of the juice out of the berries, but they will remain essentially integral.


Now, let's talk about the cream portion.  You've probably had  strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, or just thick sweetened cream, or maybe some ice cream.  All good.   But try this one:  put a cup of creme fraiche into a bowl, and add a third of a cup of heavy cream, together with two tablespoons of sugar.  Whip the stuff up together.  The creme fraiche gives it some body, and as the cream whips, you will get some fluffiness.  There is a tartness here that Annalena loves.  If the tart aspect does not appeal to  you, then you can switch to mascarpone instead, or just go with whipped cream.  It's all good.

When you're ready to serve the cake, if you have some (left over, for example, from candying the stuff), use ginger syrup to brush on the cake.  You do this by slicing it in half, horizontally.  Do the best job you can, and use a serrated knife.  It works best.  Then brush the syrup on the cut sides.  If you don't feel that ambitious, just pour some over the cake. It's porous, and it will accept it gladly.

Then cut the size slice  you want (Annalena bets you cut a bigger slice than you can eat), put plenty of strawberries, and plenty of the whipped stuff of your choice on the plate, and dig in.  And smile.

THIS, ragazzi, is SUMMERTIME in a bowl.  Actually, let's call it EARLY summertime in a bowl, because later in summer, Annalena wants you to do the same thing, but with peaches.  Or berries.  Or, as summer is drawing to a close, with plums.

Lets get busy ragazzi.  This sounds harder than it is.  Make it for folks you love.  Seriously.    They will love you for it.  And Annalena guarantees: you will NEVER have a plate of strawberry shortcake in a restaurant as good as this.