Cakey Strawberry Shortcake
MAKES
8 generous servings
TAKES
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Total: 5 hours
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
This is sort of my “fancier” strawberry shortcake, made with a cake base instead of a biscuity one. While it takes a bit more time, it’s only a bit more effort than my simplest strawberry shortcake. First, I roast the strawberries. You may have heard me talk about this before (YES, it’s an obsession - IYKYK). I also use my super creamy mascarpone whipped cream - it’s thick and fluffy and beautifully rich - the perfect pairing with the soft cake and juicy berries.
INGREDIENTS
Roasted Strawberries
1135 g / 2 ½ pounds fresh strawberries
99 g / ½ cup granulated sugar
5 g / 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
pinch or two fine sea salt
Cream Cake “Shortcakes”
113 g / 2 large eggs
198 g / 1 cup granulated sugar
210 g / 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
6 g / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 g / ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
235 g / 1 cup heavy cream
7 g / 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
226 g / 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
99 g / ½ cup granulated sugar
350 g / 1 ½ cups heavy cream
7 g / 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
1 g / ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Bake This Recipe With Me:
METHOD
1. Make the roasted strawberries: preheat the oven to 275°F / 135°C with an oven rack in the center of the oven.
2. Hull the strawberries and cut them into large pieces—cut large strawberries into quarters, medium strawberries in half, and leave the small guys whole - transfer them to a large bowl as you work.
3. Add the sugar, and toss well to combine. Transfer the berries to an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer.
4. Roast the strawberries until they are soft but still not falling apart, 3 to 4 hours. Gently stir the strawberries 2-3 times throughout roasting. Earlier in the roasting time the mixture will be very wet, with lots of visible juices. Toward the end of roasting time, the juices will become more like a syrup. Both the juices and the fruit should still be red, not darkened in color.
5. Transfer the fruit and juices to a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and cool completely. If desired, this can be done up to 4 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
6. Make the shortcakes: preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C with an oven rack in the center. Lightly grease the cavities of a muffin pan with nonstick spray (you can also use other individual baking pans, such as mini tart pans or a tete molds).
7. In the bowl an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a large bowl, if using a hand mixer), whip the eggs on low speed to combine until they become slightly frothy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar, then gradually raise the mixer to high speed and continue to whip until the mixture is pale yellow and very thick, 3-4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and mix for 1 minute more.
8. While the eggs whip, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle about ⅓ of the flour mixture into the mixer and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add the remaining flour about ⅓ at a time, mixing just until incorporated each time. Scrape the base and sides of the bowl well.
9. Slowly drizzle the cream into the batter, mixing on low speed until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
10. Use a scoop to portion the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filing each cavity just over 3/4 full. Transfer to the oven and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, 20-25 minutes.
11. Gently remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
12. Make the whipped cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the mascarpone and granulated sugar on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.
13. With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add the cream gradually in a slow steady stream. As the mixture combines, slowly/gradually raise speed to medium-high, and whip until the mixture becomes thick, 2-4 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
14. To assemble the shortcakes, cut each cupcake in half - I plate each portion to have 3 cake halves. Place all three cake halves on a plate or in a bowl, and top generously with strawberries and whipped cream. Spoon a smaller quantity of strawberries and cream on top. Serve immediately.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
