The Best Strawberry Shortcake

So you may have heard that California is experiencing crazy high temperatures this winter, while the poor east coast has been stuck inside a "polar vortex" of freezing ice. To illustrate just how insane our California weather is right now, I will tell you what I did yesterday: Went to the beach and laid in the sun at beautiful Montana de Oro state park, watched my car's temp gauge reach 86 degrees, and rounded the day off with an outdoor barbeque with friends. It honestly felt like the 4th of July.

Because I was in such a summery mood, I decided to try taking a personal spin on strawberry shortcake for dessert. You may have made a decently yummy strawberry shortcake with store bought ingredients, such as those pre-made round cakes and some canned ready-whip (how I loved that combo as a kid!). However, I would like to tell you that there is a better way...

Super easy homemade pound cake and homemade whipped cream!

I looked at a ton of pound cake recipes online before deciding that none of them were quite right. Either the photo of the cake looked too white and styrofoamy, or it was a recipe for a huge, Bundt style cake. So, I decided to wing it and make my own variation based on a couple of different recipes. It turned out perfect - moist and buttery on the inside, with a slightly crunchy, caramelized crust on top. It took about 15 minutes to make and an hour to bake. When smothered in homemade whipped cream and covered in a pile of strawberries, this dessert is pure perfection at any time of year.

Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt (I used Fage brand yogurt)

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoon Cointrequ orange liquor (optional) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated.

3. Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg 1 at a time. Add vanilla and Cointreau. 

4. Pour the mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 

Whipped Cream & Berries:

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sugar

1 pint of strawberries

Using an electric mixer, mix the cream, vanilla, and sugar until soft peaks form and the cream is the thickness that you like. This can take several minutes with a stand mixer on the highest speed. Be careful that you watch it though, as cream will literally turn into butter if mixed too long! 

Serve the cream and berries on thick slices of pound cake.