Strawberry shortcake in a glass
Cake, berries and cream – this dessert is an American summer tradition well worth adopting. Assembling the shortcakes in jars is cute as well as practical for ease of serving. They can be made a day or two ahead.
For the strawberries
1kg strawberries
1 tsp vanilla bean powder or paste
2 tbsp icing sugar
Freeze-dried strawberries for garnish (optional)
Cream topping
500ml cream
200g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla bean powder or paste
For the cake
2 cups flour
4 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
180g butter, softened
11⁄2 cups sugar
1 large lemon, finely grated zest
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
Strawberries: Dice strawberries, toss with vanilla and icing sugar and set aside to macerate. This can be done the day before and left overnight in the fridge if desired.
Cake: Heat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 30cm x 22cm baking tin.
Sift flour, cornflour and baking soda into a bowl. In another bowl, cream butter with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at at time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
Fold in half the dry ingredients then half the yoghurt until combined, then repeat. Spread mixture in tin and bake 20-25 minutes until golden and firm.
Topping: Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat to soft peak stage.
To assemble the shortcakes, cut the cooled cake into 10-12 rounds the same size as your serving glasses or jars then split each round through the centre to make 20-24 rounds. Place a round in each glass/jar. Add a spoonful of strawberries to each one, then some cream mixture and repeat. Decorate with freeze-dried strawberry pieces and crumbled leftover cake, plus some edible flowers if desired. Makes 10-12 250ml jars