Tasty Tuesday: Strawberry Shortcake

My favorite dessert when I was a little girl was strawberry shortcake. It has so many wonderful flavors that meld to make one glorious treat. The rich, dense cake; the cold, soft ice cream; the sweet, juicy, strawberries; the light, fluffy cream. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I was even obsessed with the character Strawberry Shortcake. All these years later, so is my daughter. She was ecstatic to make this dessert.

A friend of mine raves about Alton Brown's pound cake. Not that she's ever eaten a cake that he's made (at least I don't think so!), but she's used his recipe multiple times for her own family. Now I see why. 

I was fresh out of real vanilla extract. Shh, don't tell Alton.

Jake was in his glory cracking 9 eggs.

Into the mixer for you. Just another casualty of the baking war.

Excited to get the beater all to himself since the other two were sleeping.

Look at that batter! Isn't it beautiful?

 And what would strawberry shortcake be without homemade ice cream??? Mediocre, that's what.

Simple Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk                   2 cups heavy cream

3/4 sugar                               1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

pinch salt

Directions:

In a medium bowl, use a handmixer on low speed or whisk to combine the milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or overnight. Freeze according to manufacture's instructions. Place in the freezer for 2 hours for a firmer cream.

What's going on???

Mash some strawberries, top with whipped cream, and there you have it! Delicious strawberry shortcake. Now, go make some for yourself. You deserve it!