Strawberry Shortcake

Talk about dense, fluffy and sweet desserts and I would fast include Strawberry shortcake among my list of favorites. Well, obviously strawberry is not a staple in a tropical country like the Philippines thus making it a must try among sweet tooth addicts like me. Strawberry grows abundantly in Baguio on a specific season yet it is now readily available to consumers all year round in the many special supermarkets in the country. The best strawberries to use are of course the imported ones since they are plump, juicy and sweet. In Zamboanga, it is very difficult to source fresh strawberries so I normally use the canned ones although I really find the canned ones better for my taste buds. Trust me when I say its better! 

Of course, you cannot make Strawberry Shortcake unless you can bake a very soft and velvety sponge base. Honestly, I really don't use sponge cake for my shortcake since I find it dry and tedious to prepare instead I use this vanilla chiffon cake base that I have mastered in  a decade of my baking life. Imagine soft sponge filled with cream and chopped strawberries and topped with large fresh strawberries.Well, that of course is heaven. check out the recipe below.

VANILLA CHIFFON BASE

Sift 2 cups of cake flour, 2/3 c white sugar, 1/2 sp salt, 1 tbsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda. set aside.

Make a well at the center of the sifted dry ingredients and add 1 c. fresh milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 6 eggyolks, 2/3 c corn oil. Mix very well using a wire whisk and set aside.

Prepare meringue by beating 6 pcs eggwhites and 1 tsp cream of tartar. Slowly add 1 c white sugar and continue mixing till stiff but not dry. Add the prepared batter to the eggwhites and fold in. Pour in a greased and lined round pan and bake for 40 minutes till center is done. Cool in a wire rack and prepare the cream frosting.

CREAM FROSTING

Just whip 2 cups of whipping cream together with 1/4 c icing sugar. Do not over whip so it wont deflate. 

Set aside and assemble cake by dividing the cooled cake in two. Fill with cream filling and some chopped strawberries. You may also fill it with strawberry jam if you wish. Frost again the whole cake and garnish with some fresh strawberries. You may also add some strawberry jam if desired. HAPPY BAKING!