Strawberry Shortcake
Serves about a dozen people or one very hungry little brother Ingredients To begin,
preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly grease the bottoms of two nine-inch cake pans. Avoid greasing the sides.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set it off to the side for a few minutes.
With a mixer, beat the egg yolks until they are a pale
yellow. Slowly add 1½ cups sugar and continue beating until the yolks are even paler.
Next, with a spoon, stir the strawberry purée and the lemon rind into the egg yolks. Then stir the egg yolks into the sifted flour mixture.
In a stainless steel bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, moist peaks form. Then
gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter a little bit at a time (about 1/4 of the mixture each time).
Pour the batter into the two nine-inch pans and put them in the oven, preferably somewhere in the bottom half. They should bake for about 35 minutes. When done, the cake should spring back when gently pressed with a spoon or finger tip.
When the cakes is done and has cooled off slightly, slice both cakes horizontally so that you now have four layers. Brush or sprinkle the kirsch on each layer, using more or less according to your personal taste.
In a stainless steel bowl whip the cream until it thickens, then add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until soft, but firm, peaks form.
Take the "top" layer of one of the cakes and place it browned-side-down on your serving plate. Spread a generous amount of the whipped cream (about, oh, a cup or so) on top of this layer, and then cover it with about a third of the sliced strawberries. Place the one of the "bottom" layers on top, and add another layer of cream and strawberries. Repeat with the other "bottom" layer.
Place the last "layer" of cake on top, browned-side-up, and then cover the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream, saving a little for fancy cream
swirls or whatever other
decorations you may fancy.
Decorate the cake by patting the sliced almonds into the cream all around the sides. Put whatever cream you have left over into a pastry bag and pipe little swirls/hills/fluting/whatever around the top edge of the cake. Finally, place the twelve strawberries in a circle around the top edge, either on top of or right next to your decorations. Chill well before serving to guests or
bottomless-
pits-of-cake-eating known as little brothers.