It’s almost the time of year for local strawberries to be ready for picking here in Charlottesville. It always arrives much earlier than I am expecting but this year I am getting a jump on it.
One of Dan’s favorite desserts (he has many!) is Strawberry Shortcake. Normally I make a sweet baking powder biscuit that I cut in half and toast. Then slather on some great butter and top with macerated, sliced strawberries. This year I am experimenting with a couple of different options. The version we made this weekend used pound cake instead of the biscuit, used a sweetened cream cheese/whipped cream spread, topped off with the strawberries and whipped cream. YUM!
Recipe
1 pound cake – either homemade of store bought
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 quart strawberries, cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
powdered sugar to taste
Directions:
- Slice pound cake into 1/2 inch slices. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Broil each side of slices until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Whip cream cheese, whipping cream and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. You may need to add a bit more whipping cream depending on the density of the cream cheese.
- Slice or dice strawberries. Sprinkle with the sugar and let sit for at least 1/2 hour so that juices come out of the strawberries.
- Whip the remaining whipping cream to soft peak stage. Add some powdered sugar – amount depends on how sweet you like your whipped cream – and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
- Cut pound cake slice in half. Top each slice with a couple of tablespoons of the cream spread. Put one slice on a plate with the spread side up. Top with berries. Place another slice of cake spread side down on top of berries. Push gently on the cake so that it doesn’t slide off. Top with berries and whipped cream.
- Serve and enjoy!