Is there anything better than having a big BBQ with ribs, beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon, cheesy potatoes, garlic bread, and fruit salad? Some may say that this is all you need on a beautiful summer day with a light breeze and a beautiful blue sky. But I’m here to tell you that there is always always always room for dessert. Now I don’t mean just any dessert. I’m talking about the unofficial “official” dessert of summer, strawberry shortcake!
Now my family and I all had our doubts after gorging ourselves on two or three rounds of food, but when I set this three layered masterpiece on the table, dripping with strawberry juice and bulging with layers of whipped cream, everyone was ready to dig their forks in.
I found this recipe on Driscoll’s website, Driscoll’s, as any connoisseur of strawberries will tell you, sells this strawberries and many other types of berries. The dessert itself is fairly simple and consists of layers of shortcake, whipped cream, and strawberries. My friend and I followed the shortcake recipe carefully, making sure not to over-knead the dough since it is a biscuit dough and it doesn’t take much work to go too far and produce a very dense biscuit. Our biscuits turned out slightly uneven, but the flavor and lightness was heavenly (next time I’ll make sure to push more dough to the outside of the pans). Since I already knew how to make homemade whipped cream, thanks to my grandma, I whipped that up pretty fast. The one key thing that I changed was that I used macerated strawberries. Maceration, as any avid baker or chef can tell you, is when you soften or cause to soften by soaking in a liquid. My mom had just picked the strawberries that morning from her garden and knowing that they may not be the sweetest, had sprinkled sugar over them, causing them to soften and become both sweet and saucy. So instead of using plain strawberries as the recipe had suggested, I used macerated strawberries, allowing the juice to run down the sides of the cake.
As you can see from the picture, it made for a very moist dessert. And although everyone had indulged heavily in the main meal, no one said no when I served them a generous helping of this cake. The shortcake, being more fluffy than dense, the whipped cream, being fresh and whipped into stiff peaks, and the freshly macerated strawberries combined to make this cake one that I will make multiple times this summer and in the future. And it took considerably less time to make than most desserts that I make, allowing me to have the option to make this last minute for a fun and delicious addition to any summer meal. So I would encourage you to try it for yourself, see what works for you and enjoy this dessert that is both simple and delicious.
link: https://www.driscolls.com/recipe/classic-strawberry-shortcake-recipe