From scratch sponge cake makes a great base for some strawberry shortcake with a little (unsweetened) whipped heavy cream. It was dessert following a Valentine’s Day dinner of lobster tail, twice-baked potatoes and a green bean casserole also made from scratch (sure to be a future test kitchen article).
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
Valentine’s Day started at the home of MT’s mom, with a quartet in red shirts singing three songs, a capella, for Nanner. The Wyoming Valley Barbershop Harmony Chorus had offered to bring a singing valentine to your door for a modest fee and MT decided to arrange a serenade. And yes, the vocals were terrific.
The day ended with a lobster tail dinner at our house, preceded by shrimp cocktail and salad, the entree served with twice-baked potatoes and a new recipe for green bean casserole from scratch that will doubtless be part of an upcoming test kitchen. And the meal finished with some strawberry shortcake, also made from scratch.
If you get a bit worried at the thought of baking cakes, this sponge cake recipe from my oldest brother (of “Uncle Jake’s Favorite Recipes”) is pretty easy. And it keeps well in the freezer. I used it for the baked Alaska I wrote about in a Dec. 25 test kitchen — made a little more seasonal by using mint and strawberry ice cream under the meringue.
About half that sponge cake went into the baked Alaska, the other half went into the freezer, to be pulled out for this occasion. It remained near perfect for the job, sturdy enough not to go soggy from the toppings yet soft and tasty enough to complement them.
I served it with fresh strawberries cut up and lightly sugared, then left overnight in the fridge. I whipped up some heavy cream to stiff peaks, but that’s optional. The nice thing about doing both strawberries and cream yourself is that you get to control the sweetness. If you want a little, do what I did and stay light on the sugar for the berries while skipping it completely for the whipped cream. If you have a real sweet tooth, add sugar to both (and a half-teaspoon vanilla in the cream).
Dobru chut!
Strawberry short cake (with sponge cake from scratch) (Uncle Jake’s Favorite Recipes)
4 eggs, separated
½ cup unbleached flour
¾ cup sugar
½ cup corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
strawberries
heavy cream for whipping.
For the cake, heat oven to 350. Beat egg whites with salt until foamy. Gradually add half the sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Beat egg yolks in separate bowl with vanilla and remaining sugar until thick. Sift flour and cornstarch together.
Fold egg yolks into whites, then fold in flour gradually and blend well. Pour into greased and floured square cake pan. Bake 25-30 minutes until top springs back. Remove from pan.
Chop or slice strawberries and place in bowl. Coat with sugar to taste, cover and leave in refrigerator overnight. This should draw out some of the juices, making a bit of a syrup, if you use enough sugar.
Slice cake, top with strawberries and, if desired, whipped cream.
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