Strawberry shortcake will never change. Why should it? The perfectly balanced trifecta of strawberries, cream and cake make it hard to improve, and next to impossible to screw up. I should know. It’s the first cake I mastered. It’s also the official cake of my birthday season and a sharp, creamy highlight of summer.
My first strawberry shortcake recipe employed a Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cake. My memory of that recipe has improved with age, even though I haven’t made or eaten a Sara Lee pound cake in four decades. So as part of my 50th birthday festivities, I staged a strawberry shortcake showdown: Sara Lee vs. what I’ve learned since.
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