How to Make a Strawberry Lemon Shortcake

This cake is a lot of fun, and it's not hard. It was baked on a large baking sheet so it only rose about 3/4-inch, and then it was cut into circles using a bowl. (Save the dropped pieces, stick them in a bag, and freeze them. Use them as cake crumbs on ice cream or another dessert.)

And it's really good. Both the lemon sauce and the lemon filling have a delightful lemon flavor, just like lemon pie. So you can balance the lemon against the strawberies. This is a very flavorful dessert.

Make the Cake

This is a Vanilla Baby Cake Mix. It's a cream cake, pudding-in-the-mix. It's not one of those airy store cakes that collapse when you touch them. It has substance. If you put chips or nuts in it, they stay suspended and don't sink to the bottom.

It balances better with the berries and cream.

You can bake this cake in round cake pans or a 9x13-inch baking pan. Push the batter toward the edges of the pan so that it is lower in the middle. The top of the cake will then be flat and easier to stack.

If you use the rectangular pan, cut the cake into equal halves and stack them to make a two-layer dessert.

Whip the Cream

The whipped cream is a pastel yellow.  It's lemon flavored. Lemon and strawberry make a great combination.  

Use heavy whipping cream. You can make lemon whipped cream with lemon pastry filling. Put it in as you are whipping the cream. Add enough to get the flavor right. Add a little lemon zest if you have a fresh lemon. You can add a drop or two of food color. 

Whipped cream melts, so serve your desserts right away. Or use the secret, magic way to keep your whipped cream attractive all day. Add meringue powder. (Meringue powder is made from egg whites.)

Tip: to make your whipped cream stand at attention like that takes extra meringue powder. It is applied with a pastry bag. But soft whipped cream spooned over your cake tastes the same.

Stack 'em Up

Stack them as shown. There are strawberries between the layers. For the dessert at the top, you can drizzle lemon syrup over the stack as you would pancakes.