Summer is coming fast, so keep this easy strawberry shortcake recipe handy!
If you're reading this when strawberries are in season, lucky you, but when I needed to pull together a quick birthday cake for Kent the other day, I knew the ones at the store right now would taste terrible (there's NO comparison to the dead-tasting ones at the store this time of year vs. fresh berries in the summer from our local grower), so I pulled out my organic frozen strawberries. These were from Costco, but I'll hopefully be able to freeze more this summer to last me all throughout next year.
Why only organic strawberries?
I only buy organic strawberries because they're a very highly sprayed crop, and I'll pass on the glyphosate and other dangerous chemicals in our food, thanks. See the Dirty Dozen list here, this shows which foods are most important to buy organic and yep, strawberries are on the top for 2017 — sadly, they always make this list.
Even better than just blindly buying organic produce at the store, though, is if you have a local no-chemical/no-spray grower you trust, who knows how to keep the soil healthy and fertile, and who is what our farmer calls, “beyond organic“.
Note that some like to use biscuits for their strawberry shortcake, but not us…
I like more of a cake-like shortcake instead of a “bready” shortcake. You could also find an angel food cake recipe online, that works too, but I like this simple and light cake recipe, which I pulled together from a few different recipes I had around here.
Easy Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup organic sugar
- 1/2 cup milk learn about healthy milk options here
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter pastured butter is best
- 1 teaspoon vanilla OR lemon extract for a light lemony flavor
- 1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1 cup flour I used Einkorn flour (here's why I use Einkorn flour mostly), but an organic all-purpose flour is okay too
For the Strawberry Topping:
- About 4 cups strawberries fresh or frozen
- 1/4-1/2 cup organic sugar depends on how you like it
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350* and butter your baking dish. I used a pretty one like this, but a square baking pan is fine too.
- In a big mixing bowl or your Bosch (my Bosch is still going strong after over 10 years and I love that it has such a big bowl compared to a Kitchen Aid, read more about it here), mix eggs until they thicken, about 3-4 minutes. Add the sugar in slowly and mix, then mix in the milk, butter, and vanilla (or lemon extract), then the baking powder and flour. Finish mixing just until combined. Pour batter into your greased pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top feels set. You can use the toothpick test if you'd like.
- While the cake is baking, get your strawberries ready…
- If you're using fresh, mash up the strawberries with the 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar and let set. If you're using frozen, put the strawberries and sugar in a saucepan and chop them with your spoon as they heat up. You may need to add a bit of water if it's too thick. Once it's all broken up and resembles a sauce, turn off the heat and set aside.
- Also while the cake is baking, make the real whipped cream. (I rinsed out my Bosch so I could whip it up in there, it's so nice being able to turn it on and walk away.)
- To serve cut each person a piece of cake, spoon strawberries over the top, and add a dollop of whipped cream, that's it!
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