Strawberry Shortcake, Perfected

In Search of the Perfect Strawberry Shortcake

By Jasmine Cabanaw

Despite being an avid baker, I had never made strawberry shortcake until I moved to Maine. My first taste of it here was at a July 4 celebration. After that, I couldn’t help but notice how common this sweet treat was at summer festivities throughout the state. Strawberry shortcake may be a beloved American classic with roots in 19th-century New England, but in Maine, it feels like a seasonal ritual. As the first strawberries ripen in late June and early July, the dessert becomes a celebration of summer’s arrival.

A few years ago, I found myself caught up in that exact experience after a you-pick outing left me with an abundance of strawberries. I was sun-soaked, happy from sharing an afternoon with friends, and energized by the fresh air. It all felt like quintessential summertime, and I wanted to celebrate. Strawberry shortcake naturally came to mind.

I was hosting a July 4 brunch, so the timing was perfect. What better dessert to serve than this strawberry classic? Red, white, and delicious. The trick would be finding the perfect recipe, which, it turned out, I could not. After browsing through dozens of recipes, none felt quite right, so I decided to create my own.

The first step was understanding what was needed for the perfect strawberry shortcake. The three key components — the berries, the shortcake, and the whipped cream — all deserve the same attention to detail if you want your strawberry shortcake to go from good to exceptional.

For the strawberries, nothing beats sun-ripened, freshly picked fruit. We are lucky in Maine to have numerous you-pick farms. This tends to be the cheaper option and is a wonderful summer activity to share with friends and family. It can make for a cute date, too.

Other options for fresh berries include farm stands and farmers markets.

I had this first component down — baskets upon baskets were crowding my kitchen counter island. The second component required a little more research. I wanted my shortcake to stand out, to be so good it would be memorable. So, I added two things that were a little unconventional: olive oil and cardamom.

The olive oil was born of sheer laziness; I didn’t want to make an extra trip to the store for vegetable oil. This proved to be serendipitous because the olive oil balanced nicely with the vanilla. The cardamom was a calculated decision because I was obsessed with it that summer. I was putting it in everything, from my tea to my oatmeal and now in strawberry shortcake.

The whipped cream was the final piece and the one I find is most often neglected. To achieve a memorable shortcake experience, make the whipped cream from scratch. It is surprisingly easy to do and requires few ingredients. For the richest texture and taste, I use heavy cream from grass-fed cows. This is easy to find in Maine, but any heavy cream will do. After that, it is just a matter of using an electric mixer until the cream thickens. I add vanilla, a tablespoon of sugar and, of course, a pinch of cardamom.

For my July 4 party and my dessert’s big debut, I had an assemble-your-own shortcake station, with blueberries available in addition to the strawberry filling for a true “red, white, and blue” theme. When someone commented that it was the best strawberry shortcake they had ever had, I knew I had achieved my goal of creating something memorable. Moments like that are what make summer in Maine so sweet and so worth savoring.

Cardamom Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

The strawberries

2 cups fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

Slice 2 cups of berries, then mash two-thirds of the berries in a bowl. Add the remaining berries, add the sugar and stir well. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

The shortcake

1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, olive oil, sugar, and vanilla for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly blended.

Add half of the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the water and half-and-half, mixing until blended. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and pour batter evenly into the tin. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove each shortcake from the muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

The whipped cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend with an electric mixer until the desired thickness is reached. Do not overblend, or the cream will begin to stiffen.