i love to make cakes. for my birthday this year, some good friends of mine gave me the book "
".
the author jodie rhoden, interviews 17 southern woman and tells their story about their favorite cake recipe. since strawberry season is here, i made a cake inspired by matilda reed's strawberry shortcake recipe.
it is an old appalachian stack cake. the layers are almost like a shortbread cookie topped with strawberries and whipped cream...it was divine.
recipe follows
ingredients
shortcake
2 cups self-rising flour, plus a little more
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold non-hydrogenated shortening (or her recipe calls for lard)
1 egg, beaten and at room temp
1/4 cup milk at room temp
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strawberries
3 quarts of strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
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whipped cream
1 pint of whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup
directions
shortcake
-place 2 cast iron pans in the oven
-pre- heat to 425 degrees
-cut the shortening into the flour with a fork
-add the egg and milk to the flour mixture and mix until combined
-transfer dough to a floured surface and kneed until it resembles pie crust dough
-cut mixture into 4 parts
-roll one part into a ball and with a rolling pin, roll into a circle
-gently place circle onto the cast iron and place in oven for 10 minutes
-if you have 2 cast iron pans, do the same
-when done, transfer to a cooling rack
-wait to assemble until just before serving. in the meantime you can layer with a paper towel on a plate
strawberries
-slice the strawberries (removing the greens) and mix with sugar
-set aside for 15 minutes
whipped cream
-whip the cream until it begins to thicken and peaks form
-add the vanilla and maple syrup and store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble
assembling
-put a layer of the shortcake down on a plate
-spread whipped cream on the cake
-place a layer of strawberries
repeat until all ingredients are used.