Strawberry Shortcake

Baker Nicole Garrett with SusieCakes stops by Good Day to make a summer treat.
 

Strawberry Shortcake 

Equipment: 9” cake pans, medium pot, heat-proof spatula, whisk, 9x9 glass baking dish, measuring spoons

Yields: 1- 9” Cake

Start off by baking your favorite vanilla cake. We recommend a lighter and fluffier cake for this recipe with thinner layers to avoid having to slice the layers in half.

You will want to make four 9” layers. Once these are baked and cool, remove them from the cake pans and place in the refrigerator to chill for up to 4 hours.

While the layers cool, you can make the vanilla pudding and the whipped cream for the filling and frosting.
 

Vanilla Pudding

Egg yolks, ¼ cup
Granulated sugar, ¾ cup
Cornstarch, 1/3 cup
Salt pinch
Whole milk, 2 cups
Pure vanilla, 1 Tbl.
Unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1inch cubes, ¼ cup

In a medium-size pot, scald milk over moderate heat.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and granulated sugar. Whisk for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Add the cornstarch and salt to the egg mixture and whisk to incorporate.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture whisking vigorously to avoid the eggs from curdling and then transfer back to the pot over moderate heat.

Cook the pudding until you see the first few bubbles break the surface, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula making sure to continuously scrape the bottom of the pot. Whisk occasionally to keep the pudding smooth.

Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and unsalted butter until completely smooth.

Immediately strain pudding through a fine sieve into a glass baking dish and press plastic wrap snugly against the surface. Refrigerate for 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Whipped Cream

Heavy whipping cream, 8 cups
Powdered sugar, 1 cup

Pour heavy cream into a standing mixer with a whisk attachment and start on low speed. Slowly add in powdered sugar and whip on medium speed until medium peaks form.

Divide cream into 2 parts. Keep 1st part out to make the filling and place the 2nd part in the refrigerator to stay chilled until ready to frost your cake.

Filling

Fresh strawberries, 2 pints
Vanilla pudding
Whipped cream

Wash and drain strawberries. Lightly dry with paper towels. Depending on size of strawberries, cut each into 4 pieces (6, if large).

Place chilled vanilla pudding into a bowl. Add ½ of the whipped cream by folding into the pudding with a spatula until completely incorporated.

Lastly, fold the strawberries into the pudding mixture. Set aside.

Assembly

Place your first cake layer onto a cake board bottom side up. Scoop 1/3 of the filling onto the cake layer and spread out to an inch from the cake edge.

Place the 2nd cake layer bottom side up onto the filling. Repeat this process 2 more times. After placing the last layer on top, the cake will be ready to frost.

*Pro tip: Place cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill prior to frosting. This makes frosting the outside smoother.

Place cake on a decorating turntable. Pull reserved whipped cream from refrigerator and frost cake. We recommend starting with the sides first to seal in the filling.

Once frosted to your desire, place the cake onto a serving plate and serve cold. Enjoy! 

LINK: susiecakes.com