Confession: I’m crazy about shortcake. But for the past several years, I’ve dallied between numerous recipes without being able to settle on one.
I grew up on a sweet sponge cake version, which is called “Never Fail Cake” and always sunk in the middle for me. Tasty though. Then there’s Shelia’s drier cake, more like a slightly sweet biscuit. And Vonnie’s crumb cake, which we liked for the sugar crumbs but I never baked quite right: the crumbs burned before the cake was done, kind of thing.
For our first shortcake this year, I started fresh. I began with Never Fail Cake (adjusted according to last year’s notes), which has become a truly delicious, moist cake. One that does not fall in the middle (since I tweaked the fat content and rising agent). One that does not, as Mr. Putter would say, break your toe if you drop it. A light and airy cake.
But I topped the cake batter, on a whim, with half a batch of crumbs for fruit pie: my sister’s mother-in-law’s recipe. (She has a great title, eh? She also goes by my brother-in-law’s mother and my nephews’ grandmother, and there’s more where that came from.)
The crumbs are lovely, with brown sugar and butter, and a few oats and pecans. They turn into a fantastic streusel on top of the cake. (If amounts below are doubled, they’re also great on pie.) Definitely good enough to be eaten warm from the oven, without strawberries, as a coffee cake. But with berries, it’s Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
Try it? Let me know what you think.
Strawberry Streusel Shortcake
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 Tbsp butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk
Streusel
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 2 1/2 Tbsp butter melted
- 2 Tbsp old-fashioned oats
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
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Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer.
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Add egg and beat until fluffy.
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Add remaining ingredients, and mix only until well combined.
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Place batter in a greased 9×9" pan.
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In a separate bowl, stir streusel ingredients together with a fork. Sprinkle over cake batter.
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Bake at 350* for 22-25 min till done (using toothpick test).
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Serve with fresh strawberries, and milk or whipped cream.
Yummm… i need to try this one…
I too am a bit obsessive about shortcake. Hope Helmuth’s has been my favorite. But now I’m wondering if 9:30 is too late to mix up yours!?
And it didn’t even take $100 to get it made, as dear Mr. Putter’s light and airy cake did! ☺
Hahahaha. Geneva and Priscilla, you are making me laugh. And I’ve always felt bad for Mr. Putter and his poor gullible luractive self. 🙂
Interestingly enough , your ingredients for the cake part are similar to our favorite which I got from someone local but I think it came from Florida! Except this one doesn’t have an egg or vanilla..
Strawberry Shortcake makes: 2 of the 9 by 13’s
1 cup butter
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
Crumb together like pie dough …take out 3/4 cup crumbs and to the rest add:
4 tsp. baking powder
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
Stir good and put in greased pans. Top with crumbs..
350 degrees for 25-30 minutes
Serve with fresh strawberries and milk…( a new one for me this year was someone had shortcake at a meal and did not sweeten berries but we put honey on top before the milk..Delicious!!)
Yummy! I’m always up for trying another one. I like the idea of honey.
I tried yours yesterday morning! It was yummy!! I ate a bowl for brunch and a bowl for lunch..lol..between my husband , daughter and myself , we pretty much inhaled the dish! I liked the crumbs..except I couldn’t find pecans and wasn’t sure my family would like that part anyways..I gave my mother in law a teeny weeny taste..lol but never shared much!
Since this was a little different than our usual recipe I gave it a try tonight for supper and it received thumbs up by all of us! The cake was airy just how we like it and the crumbs on top give it a wonderful touch! Thanks for sharing!
Hurray! So glad you liked it. Congrats – you are probably the third person in the world to bake this recipe. 🙂
Just in time for Justin’s wedding. I am going to try this for his wedding rehearsal supper where I was already planning to serve strawberry shortcake as strawberries are ripe in the Willamette valley in Oregon. Thank you Shari, I was online this morning looking for a recipe.
Gladys
Aw, yay! I’m so honored. ❤ We can’t wait for his PA reception. Love to all of you as you prepare, dear lady.
That shortcake is delightful! Just tried it tonight. The cake is super soft, melt-in-your-mouth….and then those chewy sweet bits of streusel… Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
The shortcake recipe is fabulous; thanks a lot for sharing it with us. This spring, I have been wondering if strawberry shortcake is a cultural exclusive- I grew up on it, and am [seasonally] passionate about it, but do not often encounter it outside of my own making. I’m glad to know I’m not the only strawberry shortcake fan left!
Only one question: is the omission of salt intentional?
Yes! For some reason, that recipe has never required any.
Made this tonight with our first fresh strawberries (in upstate NY) Definitely a new favorite; Thanks!