Strawberry Baby Cakes

Of course it's the dead of winter, but I wanted strawberry shortcake.  My dad always made the shortcake growing up, but I wanted to do a twist on his version and make individual cakes.  However, to give a depth of flavor to the cake, I decided to add lemon zest into the batter.  Strawberries and lemon are good friends, so they work beautifully together.  Also, shortcake can be a little one note:  sweet.  Lemon zest adds an extra punch and deepens the flavor by cutting the sweetness. 
Furthermore, I didn't want to use just boring Cool Whip or whipped cream from a can.  I wanted to make a whipped cream frosting that lasted for more than a few hours before collapsing.  I figured gelatin would stiffen the cream enough so that it would last for a few days, but powdered gelatin doesn't taste very good.  As I looked through my pantry, I noticed marshmallows.  They have gelatin, so how bad could they be in a frosting?
I also happened to have homemade strawberry sauce in the fridge that was begging to be used, so I decided my final dish would be a tower of cake, strawberry sauce, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream frosting thickened with marshmallows.  Really, how bad could that be????

The result was an amazing and beautiful cake, not to mention totally delish!

The layers:  cake, strawberry sauce, fresh cut strawberries, whipped cream frosting...repeat

Strawberry Baby Cakes

For the shortcake:

1 ¼ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 glass pan

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Add the egg

Add the milk and vanilla and mix well

Add the flour mixture and mix only until combined

Add lemon zest and mix well with rubber spatula

Put batter into the greased 9x13 pan and smooth evenly (batter will be thin)

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Cool completely

Using a 4 inch (or similar size) round cookie cutter, cut cake into rounds (you’ll get about 6 rounds)

Place 1 round of cake on a plate, drizzle with strawberry sauce, top with fresh cut strawberries, spread (or pipe) whipped cream frosting over the berries.  Repeat process one more time

Whipped Cream Frosting:

2 cups cold heavy cream

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

7 large marshmallows

In a large bowl whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form (start on low then increase the speed to high)

Place marshmallows in a bowl and place in microwave.  Microwave for about 30 seconds until puffed

Put marshmallows into the whipped cream and beat until combined

(This lasts in the refrigerator for a few days)

Strawberry Sauce:

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

¼ cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons water

1 jar (12 oz) strawberry jam

Cook berries, sugar, and water (start with 2 T. and add more if needed) in a medium saucepan over medium high heat

Bring to a boil and stir often so it doesn’t burn

Cook until berries are softened and sugar is dissolved

Off the heat, add jam and puree (with blender, food processor, or immersion blender)

Taste and add more sugar if needed

Cool completely

(This lasts really well in the refrigerator and is also excellent over ice cream)