Saturday is Strawberry Shortcake Day

It can be difficult to keep up with all of the food holidays that seem to have appeared in the last few years but I'm not complaining. They always give me an excuse, err, reason, to enjoy margaritas, donuts or in this case, Strawberry Shortcake!

More than just an adorable cartoon figure, Strawberry Shortcake is a delicious dessert that simply says summer. You've noticed it on the end-caps at the grocery store for the last few weeks but Saturday is definitely the perfect time to indulge. And the best berries you can get are from Driscoll's, and the best Driscoll's are the Organic ones at Whole Foods!

I got my baker on and made my own bundt cake and whipped cream. I highly recommend making a day of it having a baking session on Saturday afternoon!! Pump some tunes and make a treat for yourself from scratch. Invite some friends over for dessert and share your goods or keep them all to yourself, I won't tell.

I've got recipes for the Lemon-Thyme Bundt Cake, Macerated Strawberries and Strawberry Whipped Cream below. If making all three is too much... just pick one and add the homemade touch to your dessert!

Lemon-Thyme Bundt Cake
originally from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
18 tablespoons butter (2 sticks plus 2 tbsp), softened, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted, plus more for pan
12 sprigs of Lemon-Thyme, plus more for garnish*
1/2 teaspoon salt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon (save the lemon for the macerated strawberries)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs at room temperature

Process
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the lower third. Butter the bundt pan and dust with flour (tap out excess flour). Pick 2 teaspoons of small clusters from the top of the lemon-thyme sprigs and sprinkle around the mold. Set aside the bundt pan.

Coarsely chop the remaining lemon-thyme leaves to make 2 tbsp. Whisk into the sifted flour, add salt and lemon zest and set aside.

Put soften butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (About 4 minutes) Add sugar and mix until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes.

Mix in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix batter until smooth. Reduce speed to low and incorporate flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until just combined after each addition.

Spoon batter into prepared mold and smooth out the top with a small spatula. Firmly tap the pan on the counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. About 40 minutes. (You can make your macerated strawberries and can at least start, if not finish, the whipped cream while the cake cooks)

Let cake cool slightly on a wire rack before removing from mold. Transfer to serving plate and enjoy with your favorite toppings!

Macerated Strawberries
I'm sure you can Google recipes... I just know this one from experience. I like adding the lemon to help cut some of the sweetness but to also add an acidity to the berries.
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed and hulled**
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Process
Quarter or dice the strawberries and put into a bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving or refrigerate overnight for really saucy berries.

Strawberry Whipped Cream
originally from The Cupcake Project
Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
4 tbsp food processed strawberries (wash, dry and hull 6-8 berries then run them through your mini-prep until they become a thick seedy liquid)
1/3 cup sugar***

Process
Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, whip the cream until it looks like whipped cream. Mix in the sugar. Mix in the strawberries. Use the whipped cream to top the dessert of your choice... or snack on it by the spoonful!

Notes:
*Lemon-thyme is an herb that I happen to grow as part of my patio garden this year. The fragrance is lemony and herby and it is the perfect thing for desserts and cocktails all summer long!
**Hulled means to remove the green parts of the berry and part of the core if it is particularly tough. There are tools sold to do this but I just make a straight cut down the berry to remove the leaves.
***I actually skipped the sugar in the batch I made because I happen to love the creamy flavor of unsweetened whipped cream!

The cake slices I used to take pictures of did NOT last long!

Thank you to Driscoll's for sponsoring this post and for making this delicious dessert possible! Thank you readers for supporting the brands that support Color Me Styled!