I have loved Strawberry Shortcake for as long as I can remember. It’s the “cake” I request for my birthday every year even though it’s not your traditional birthday cake by any means, but there’s no dessert I’d rather have. (Save for a well-executed creme brulee, maybe.) I love it so much that I don’t think there’s a whole lot of room for improvement — it’s ideal just as is — but one way to make it even better is to have a whole lot more of it.
That’s what this Slab Strawberry Shortcake gives you — A LOT of strawberry shortcake. It’s an entire sheet pan’s worth, and it’s made up of a perfectly moist and lightly sweet shortcake, silky whipped cream, and syrupy fresh strawberries. As far as I’m concerned, it’s heaven in cake form, and there’s plenty of it to go around.
For strawberry shortcake, you don’t just want to slice strawberries and call it a day. No, the key is to macerate them, which is just a fancy way of saying ‘sprinkle sugar over them and let them sit.’ Macerating helps the berries release some juice, so instead of just delicious sliced fruit you get delicious fruit that’s even sweeter and has a syrupy sauce to spoon over anything your heart desires. Slice the berries, toss them in sugar, let them sit for about thirty minutes. That’s all there is to macerating.
While the berries do their thing, you can get to work on the shortcake dough. You’re going to cut some cold butter into a mixture of flour, baking powder, and sugar until it resembles coarse crumbs…
… and then you’ll add a mixture of heavy cream, eggs, and vanilla. It’s a richer dough than other shortcakes I’ve had and I LOVE it. It’s delicious all on its own, but even better paired with whipped cream and berries. You don’t have to roll it out or find a biscuit cutter… just press it into a jelly roll pan and bake it for fifteen minutes or so.
You want it to be totally cool before you top it or your whipped cream will slide right off. Now, if you’re thinking “Can I use canned whipped cream? Can I use Cool Whip?” Please, I implore you, just push away those thoughts. Homemade whipped cream is easy and there are few things better.
Just start with cold heavy whipping cream and make sure to beat it in a bowl that’s at least at room temperature. Some people chill their bowl, but I never do and have never failed — just don’t wash a bowl in hot water and then pour your cream in and expect it to work. Using an electric mixer — or a whisk by hand if you’re looking for a good work out — beat the cream until it will hold nice stiff peaks.
You can add your powdered sugar in the beginning and that helps stabilize it a bit too. It’s good on everything. Try to save some for the cake.
Spread (what you have left of) the whipped cream on that slab of shortcake and top it with those juicy berries and all that’s left to do is eat. And I’ll just say there are few things I look forward to eating as much as this.
Slab Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
FOR THE STRAWBERRIES
- 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
FOR THE SHORTCAKE
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a medium bowl, stir together strawberries and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and set aside to macerate while you work on the shortcake, at least 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
- Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a separate bowl or container, beat together eggs, whipping cream, and vanilla extract until combined, then stir into flour mixture until dough comes together.
- Press dough into a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.
- Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes, then let cool completely before assembling cake.
- When ready to serve, make the whipped cream topping:
- In a large bowl, beat the chilled whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Spread whipped cream over shortcake, then top with strawberries. Slice, serve, and enjoy!