It’s June, and June is strawberry season in Pennsylvania. The first of the many festivals in the area are the strawberry festivals. Many small communities, churches, and organizations utilize these beautiful red gems to gather in fellowship and raise money for various programs. Strawberries are my favorite fruit. Each year, I look forward to purchasing freshly picked, deep red, juicy berries grown by local farmers. One simply cannot compare the oversized, pale, sometimes white, flavorless atrocities found in grocery stores to the tiny, fat, juicy, bright red jewels grown locally.
Almost every week, I purchase at least a quart of fresh strawberries from the local farmers at Ligonier Country Market. Each year, I declare The Bean and I will pick our own strawberries from the local farms surrounding us, but we have yet to make this happen. It is easier to buy from Sandhill Berries at Ligonier than to take the time to pick our own bent-over in the hot sun. If I’m being candid, The Bean sees no fun in picking strawberries and is very vocal about her distaste for my ideas. However, this does not stop her from eating most of my berries on the way home from Ligonier.
My go-to dish for fresh strawberries is, of course, strawberry shortcake. My bib overall wearing fuzzy bottoms declares that although he likes my homemade shortcake, his absolute favorite are those spongy cake cups found in the grocery stores. Usually, once or twice a season, I indulge him and buy him chemical-laden sponge cakes. However, I believe the fleeting fresh strawberries are wasted on those spongy chemical cups.
I have tried a variety of recipes for strawberry shortcakes. Most common are the cakes or biscuits made from buttermilk. Although these are delicious, they are also time-consuming. I like to use a recipe I found in an old 1940s cookbook. This recipe is an easy recipe that creates a soft, cake-like sheet cake. The cookbook is missing its cover and index from so much use over the years. It’s not a very big book and has kitschy staged photos. I bypassed all the Jell-o recipes and found the good stuff, like two egg shortcakes and an icebox cake. I found this old cookbook at a garage sale years ago, and it has been one of my favorite cookbooks.
I gently encourage you to take advantage of the all-too-short strawberry season. If you don’t mind bending over in the hot sun, find a pick-your-own strawberry farm and spend a few hours enjoying summer and nature. Perhaps this will be the year I force my reluctant teen to join me in picking, but probably not…insert a wink. If you join us at Ligonier Country Market, visit Sandhill Berries for all things berries. They do all the hard work for you, and their berries are perfection.
Strawberry Shortcake
2/3 Cup Shortening
1 ¾ Cups Sugar
2 Large Eggs at room temperature
1 ½ Tsp. Vanilla Extract (I like to use Sweet Home Vanilla’s extract)
2 ½ Cups of All Purpose Flour
2 ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
½ Tsp. Salt
1 ¼ Cups of Whole Milk at room temperature
Strawberries
1 Quart Fresh Local Strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
½ Tsp. Vanilla Extract
Directions:
Strawberries:
Add the strawberries to a medium mixing bowl. I like to lightly crush the berries using an old-fashioned potato masher. This helps get the juices flowing and creates a wonderfully delicious syrup.
Add the vanilla extract and refrigerate the berries until ready to serve.
Cake:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the shortening and sugar till very light, about 2-3 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing in about ½ the flour mixture on low speed until mostly incorporated, then add half the milk and mix well to combine, then repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk. Stop the mixer to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice during the process, and do not overmix.
Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, checking the cake with a toothpick for doneness. It should come out mostly clean, with just a few crumbs sticking to it. Be careful not to overbake the cake.
I like to serve this cake slightly warm with chilled berries. I also like to serve this with a side of vanilla bean ice cream or freshly whipped cream. Either way it is a delicious summer treat.
On this beautiful summer day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy simple, seasonal, delicious food, and keep washing your hands.
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