I have a love for a recipe in my first cookbook, Modern Hospitality called Strawberry Cream Cupcakes. Fluffy angel food cupcakes are stuffed with a strawberry cream filling and then topped with sweetened homemade whipped cream. The cream filling is what puts these cupcakes over the top. I have had fun serving this recipe in various forms from cupcake pops to a giant cupcake cake. And now I have one more variation. To make the BEST strawberry shortcake, I layer a light, buttery vanilla spongecake with my cream filling, strawberry slices and whipped cream.
For the strawberry layer, I sweeten strawberry slices with confectioner’s sugar and intensify the strawberries with freeze dried strawberry powder. To make the powder, process freeze dried strawberries in a food processor. This is a perfection addition too if your strawberries aren’t very sweet and flavorful.
Then there is the cream filling. Anyone who has had my strawberry cream cupcakes knows how good the cream filling is. What they didn’t know was just how easy it was to make and that it contains just two decadent ingredients, cream cheese and condensed milk. For my strawberry cream shortcake, I wanted the filling to be thicker so I added less condensed milk and some confectioner’s sugar for stiffness.
Lastly, the cake is topped with a sweetened homemade whipped cream and strawberries for garnish.
This cake is the perfect dessert to serve for Labor Day.
Strawberry Cream Shortcake
Print RecipeIngredients
- Sponge Cake:
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- Cream filling:
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- 1/3 cup condensed milk
- 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Macerated Strawberries:
- ¼ cup freeze-dried strawberries
- ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries
- Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 2 ½ tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the rack in the middle of the oven.
Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Whisk. Add the sugar and salt.
Cut each softened butter stick into 8 cubes. In 4 increments, add 4 cubed butter in the dry mixture. Beating after each addition with an electric hand mixer on medium-low speed until the butter is incorporated. The mixture will look like wet sand.
Add half of the wet mixture, beat until incorporated. Add remaining wet mixture. Beat on medium speed until the batter is almost completely smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Shake the pans to smooth the batter.
Bake for about 24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cakes to a sheet of wax paper until ready to assemble.
For the cream filing, cream the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Beat in the condensed milk, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until smooth.
For the macerated strawberries, cut the tops from 10 ounces of the strawberries. Cut the strawberries into slices. In a small food chopper or food processor, process the dried strawberries and sugar into a fine powder. Add the strawberry sugar to the sliced strawberries. Stir until combined. Allow to marinate for 10 minutes.
Set the other 6 ounces of strawberries aside.
For the whipped cream, beat the cream with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and beat until combined.
To assemble the cake, place one of the cakes on a cake plate. Top with the macerated strawberries. Spoon the cream filling on top and gently spread over the berries. Top with the other cake. Spoon the whipped cream over the top of the cake. Lastly, garnish with the remaining whole strawberries.
Notes
Freeze-dried strawberries can be found in your fruit aisle of your grocery store. You can leave out the freeze dried strawberries if you want.
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