O and I share the same age for two weeks out of the year from April 8th to 22nd. The rest of the time he is officially older. We’ve got a ram, a bull and a crab in our household. That’s an interesting image I hadn’t thought of until just now. We have a deep respect for one another and have learned to love and appreciate the unique qualities we each possess. I’m choosing not to elaborate here… might divulge too much. To this audience and possibly to myself. So moving on…
O is more of a fruit lover than chocolate lover… but still croons over a delicate chocolate mousse and he wasn’t turning his fork over at the recent appearance of that outrageous classic chocolate cake, so it all works in the end. For his birthday cake, I started with the idea of a white cake and strawberries, but I don’t fancy say a yellow or vanilla cake.
In hunting for recipes, I came across cakes with cardamom syrups, pistachio crunch, one with an interesting blackberry curd… and so on. I believe the trick to being creative is the right mood. Was I feeling edgy or traditional? I had a limited egg supply. It was a Sunday. The shops were closed… no 24/7’s here. And the nurturing feeling rose above the experimental. It’s like those nights of passion where you act based on either the love or the lust. Often both. I kept it conventional… and it was scrumptious. I’ll admit to one go at the curd substituting cornstarch? I don’t think so, thus ending up with fake blackberry jam. That sealed the deal. I baked a butterless, meringue style, zested layer cake with berries and whipped cream. Simple, clean, nothing infused, outside of the box or from a box. It was a summer preview of sweet, ripe strawberries, lemon scented cake layers, dense yet lofty, and a tangy, lightly sweetened whipped cream. Exposed sides gave me just that little bit of different I like.
Spring Strawberry Shortcake…. Grande {Print Recipe Here}
For the cake:
8 large egg yolks 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla zest from one organic lemon 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 large egg whites
The most interesting part of this recipe for photographs are the 4 egg whites beaten with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks at which point 1/2 cup of sugar is added a little at a time until you are rewarded with stiff glossy peaks… looking like this… and note this bowl is being held upside down. And that is me holding the bowl. And taking the picture still with no tripod…
Other than that, you are whisking yolks, sugar, milk, vanilla and zest of one whole lemon until smooth, and then adding a small amount of flour and salt. Your batter will be thick. Fold in the whites and pour evenly into two buttered, papered pans. Bake at 350°C in a preheated for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. And yes… I thought I distributed the batter evenly. Obviously thought wrong. Note that in the Gourmet recipe they use 3 pans. I didn’t have three and used two, slicing each layer to make four in total. Worked great. Even when not distributed evenly!
Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes then invert onto racks. Carefully peel off parchment paper and cool completely. Prepare the filling and strawberries while cake cools.
Filling:
2 cups chilled heavy cream 1/2 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 pound strawberries
As I mentioned, I sliced each layer making four in total. Fill with cream and sliced strawberries, stack a layer and repeat. Simple. Beautiful. A slice of yum!
You can slice and decorate like I’ve done or check out Biscuits and Bobbins… chunky free style. I’m liking this too…the style and her strawberry ricotta tart with Lemon Verbena. Posted of course with permission…
Back to the birthday cake…Here’s a little peak inside. Three normal slices gone….
And now three more… Did I say this served 8-10. Hahahaha.
The three of us ate half the cake in an afternoon. Since O was leaving for a couple days, to avoid consuming the other half the following day with just me and Chloe, I packed it up to share after my choir concert, fortunately, the same day.
Stay tuned for asparagus at Chez Chloe and a little guest posting over at Biscuits and Bobbins on the other side of the pond. The cyber pond 🙂
Wendy's Place 
Funny – I was just thinking to myself that might have an urge to bake! Let’s see what happens when get back from food shopping tonight… This cake looks absolutely delicious and refreshing! Any leftovers? I could be there in about 6 hours 😀
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Any time! Would be fun for you to finally see Blankenese and Treppenviertal!
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This not fair … you have the cake in Hamburg and I’m sitting in Simrishamn. Not fair, that looks SO good. Sure it’s all gone by now … can’t wait for the asparagus!!! Hope it will be something that I never tried before. Fresh asparagus is something I can really crave for. One of the reason why I love the spring.
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It has been long gone but will be certainly made again this year.
So far it’s looking like asparagus and crepes… stay tuned.
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Asparagus and crepes ???? Very interesting – not going anywhere !!!
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That cake! That cake is gorgeous! That cake is summer on a plate! Oh joy!
If I could dive in right now? I would.
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Yes… dive in and swim around… hang out on the steps. Imagine being surrounded by berries, cream and cake… eating your way from one end to the other!
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What a great cake! It is indeed summer on a plate! 🙂
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Thanks! It’s definitely going to be on my plate again this summer!
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Definitely have to make this – so pretty
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It’s a beauty and you can also really play around with the berries to make it your own.
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That looks sooooooooooo good. We have some wonderful Oregon strawberries that will be ripening soon. I’ll have to give this a try.
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Sweet little tristars or June bearing strawberries would be sooooooo good. Hope you do it!
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That cake looks amazing. Those side showing, make it so alluring! And I like the addition of sour cream in the filling for some tang! I can tell you had true confidence in that stiff meringue, getting that shot- love it! Look forward to your cyber ‘visit’.
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I’ll admit to being a wee bit hesitant on the sour cream in the whipped cream but it really mellowed out the sweetness and gave it a little more weight if that makes sense. O and I have a date for tripod shopping Friday. yay 🙂
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Wendyyyyyy – this is awesome. I just read another post where my blogger friend has made fruit tart with strawberries. I’ll be dreaming of strawberries:)
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They are really hitting the markets now. It’s still a little early and they are a little pricey and not 100% all sweet. This was a good warm up though.
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OMG Wendy … It just keeps getting better and better, and, I guess that’s possible when you allow that nurturing feeling to rise above the experimental. And, passion based on love or lust can conquer the world as well as the kitchen. I love your metaphors. Keep that oven hot! Dad loves you …. ;-Q
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I thought you’d like those strawberries. Now we’ll have to put this and a key lime on the menu. I’m sure nobody would mind a key lime pie post!
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Umm YUMMM – you need to come visit and make me that cake LOL
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Yeah… you guys are going to be getting some good berries now. And btw- nice going with that pork dish… I’m too lazy to go find the comment and copy and paste. I had to google it and it looked like a ton of effort. And sauce to boot. Well done.
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I literally wanted to claw my way through the computer screen and dive face first into this dessert. I LOVE strawberry shortcake and this looks awesome. I made strawberry shortcake quite a few times last year but haven’t made it yet. This may have to be a post-wedding treat! ~~Bliss
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This is a cake we’d all like to have thrown in our face… and eat it off bit by bit. Or better yet.. like in the movie ‘A Christmas Story’ when the mom is telling her little kid “ok honey, eat like a pig” to get him to eat his dinner? I want this cake in front of me and someone saying that to me!
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This cake is so decadent with all that cream oozing out of the sides! It reminds me of those beautiful cakes I used to order in HH with the strawberries suspended in gelatine…I used to just gaze at them for ages before eating. This is so packed with fruit, it’d be wrong not to eat all of those yummy strawberries (and cream) 🙂
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What a beautiful cake, Wendy! 😉
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Looks sooooo yummy. I hope you are well.
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Pingback: Strawberry shortcake cake… again « Chez Chloe
Looks amazing, does it stay moist in the fridge?
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Yes! But it doesn’t last more than a day or 2. The berries and cream would, I imagine get mushy.
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Pingback: Getting creative with the egg recipes | spinningpixels
Hi! Just wanted to let you know I searched all over online for what looked like a great strawberry shortcake recipe and found yours… made it for my dad who’s been craving one forever and it was A HUGE hit! My favourite new cake to make! I’m craving it so much now and will be making it for my friend’s shower and mother in law’s birthday this week. Thanks so much! Beautiful presentation too – I love rustic home made cakes with fresh ingredients… can’t beat this cake!!
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Now that’s a comment I like to get now and again. I’m glad it all worked for you. It’s a great ‘go to’ cake. I want to make it this summer in little individual servings. Can’t wait for sweet summer strawberries! cheers… wendy
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Hi! Found your cake on Pinterest. I’m planning on making it for hubby’s birthday cake. I have a question. For the cream filling, are you whipping the cream first and then adding in the sour cream and other ingredients?
Thanks!
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Sorry for the delay… I did whip the cream first and then folded in the sour cream- hope you like it!
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