Strawberry Shortcake for a Crowd

I like to bake. Sometimes, I even like to bake for my co-workers (but only the ones I consider "friends"). One of my co-workers is having a birthday this week, so I asked "What kind of cake do you want?" The response? "Do you know how to make strawberry shortcake?"

Hrmm...

Well...

Sure I do...

Confession time: I have never made a strawberry shortcake, at least not in the sense of a stacked cake with fresh whipped cream, which is what one would expect for a birthday. I have made the more traditional sort of strawberry shortcake, which are individual biscuits sliced in half and topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Easy peasy, especially since they are basically assembled just before serving so you don't really need to worry about the stability of the whipped cream. But for a birthday at the office, those wouldn't really be convenient (or particularly eye-catching).

So, I went in search of a recipe for the kind of strawberry shortcake I'm used to seeing at diners/bakeries, which is basically a stacked layer cake with strawberries and whipped cream between each layer. One of my favorite baking blogs, Smitten Kitchen, has a recipe that looks just delicious as well as pretty. The biggest challenge, I think (besides the always nerve wracking slicing layers in half) will be making a stable whipped cream that can survive a night in the refrigerator and a car ride to work.

The birthday is Thursday, so I plan to make the cakes tonight and assemble Wednesday evening. I'll let you know how it turns out!