Layered Strawberry Shortcake
Shortcake
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup Florida Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar, divided 1 cup Florida Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar, divided
- 4 eggs, separated 4 eggs, separated
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
- ¼ cup whole natural almonds ¼ cup whole natural almonds
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking powder
Whipped Cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- ¼ cup Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar ¼ cup Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar
Garnish
- 1 pint fresh strawberries 1 pint fresh strawberries
Instructions
Shortcake
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line with parchment 2 — 8 inch round cake pan.
In mixer bowl with paddle attachment or hand mixer with beaters, cream butter and 3/4 cup of the Flordia Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and almond extract and continue to beat for 2 minutes.
In small food processor, grind almonds to the consistency of coarse meal or breadcrumbs; then, add ground almonds to batter.
In a separate mixing bowl, sift or whisk together flours, salt, and baking powder; then stir into batter.
Clean the bowl the dry ingredients were in to whip egg whites with clean beaters until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup of Florida Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar and beat until stiff peak form. Fold egg whites into batter.
Divide batter between the 2 prepared pans and bake 25 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes clean. Cool on wire rack before removing layers from pans.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
In a microwavable bowl or cup, heat 1/4 cup of the heavy cream until hot. Stir in gelatin until dissolved; then, let cool to room temperature.
In chilled mixing bowl with chilled beaters, whip remaining cream until soft peaks form; then, beat in reserved heavy cream with the gelatin and sugar until stiff peaks form. Chill until ready to assemble the cake.
Assembly
Slice 1 cup of the strawberries for the filling and keep the rest whole, if desired, for the top.
In a separate bowl, fold the sliced berries into 2 cups of the whipped cream, chill to set the gelatin; then sandwich the 2 cake layers with the cream.
Decorate the top with remaining whipped cream and strawberries.
Chef's Tip
Ground almonds can be made in a mini food processor and should have the consistency of coarse meal.
For best results, egg whites should be room temperature. Beat egg whites in a bowl that is not plastic.
For best results, heavy whipping cream should be whipped as cold as possible.
Do not over whip the cream.
