This is the last week of Strawberries for Abundant Crop, and I wanted to make this amazing cake from Pioneer Woman.  However, I did not make it in time.  These past few weeks have just been too jam packed with other things to do!  So I took a picture of the strawberries that I bought.  This way, there is at least a picture!  Now I plan to eat them with sour cream and brown sugar.  That is seriously the best way to eat strawberries — easy and delicious.  If you have never had that before, try it.  Dip your strawberries into sour cream and then dip them in brown sugar.  Yummy!

However, since I am so nice, I will still share the recipe with you.  I made this cake last July, for a friend’s engagement party.  It was a hit and a few people asked for the recipe.  Without further ado — Ree’s Shortcake Recipe.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake
by Ree a.k.a. Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup Flour
• 3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/2 cups Sour Cream (room temp)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Icing Ingredients

• 1/2 lbs. Cream Cheese (room temp)
• 2 more Sticks Unsalted Butter
• 1 1/2 pound Powdered Sugar (sifted)
• 1 more teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound Strawberries

Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.  And give yourself a lot of time to make this recipe, as you have to do lots of waiting.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.  In another bowl (if using an electric mixer, these ingredients go into that), cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.  Pour into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan (remember, it’s gotta be a tall pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Stem strawberries and slice them in half from bottom to top. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.

Make icing: combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.  If you do not do this, you will regret it.  Trust me.  I have made this a few times, and definitely did not skip this step the second time.  Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.  This cake looks best when you add strawberries to the top as garnish.

Cake is best when served slightly cool. The butter content in the icing will cause it to soften at room temperature. For best results, store in the fridge!

My Notes:  Make sure you get quality cream cheese (were talking Philadelphia & not Staters here) or the icing will just run all over the place!