Refreshing STAWBERRY SHORTCAKE Sandwiches

Look what I made - some strawberry shortcakes using a cupcake recipe (or any cake recipe you want for that matter), and one of those whoopie pie pans. You know it's summer when everyone's trying to make strawberry... something. 

I had this whoopie pie pan sitting around for over a year gathering dust and my hubby would often bitch that I would buy things that I would never use so it was time to put this pan to work.

The (Wilton Nonstick 12-Cavity) Whoopie Pie Pan:

I used a recipe I found online, Vanilla Cupcake Recipe, some old strawberries I had on hand and some basic, home-made whipped cream frosting to slap it all together.

Originally, I started off making some simple but yummy vanilla cupcakes, (hence the recipe name)...

and thought to myself, I could also make some strawberry shortcake sandwiches while I was at it!

So I baked me up some whoopie pies/slices from what little left-over batter I had...

then sliced me up some strawberries and let them sit for awhile (without adding any sugar). You can add a bit of sugar if you like, to help draw out the juices as they say and if you want it a bit sweeter, but I didn't bother.

Then later, put everything together - strawberries on one half of the slices, and some whipped frosting...

then plop the other half of the slice on top and there you have it! A simple strawberry shortcake sandwich. I couldn't wait to bite in!

Hmmm.... They didn't look like much but they were sure refreshingly light and tasty! Especially in this hotter-than-normal weather we've been experiencing this summer. I ate about 3 of them right away!

As mentioned earlier, you can probably find another cake recipe to use but the one I chose to use is included further below.

Now go forth and create!

Recipe

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
(Source)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups cake FLOUR or Canadian bleached all-purpose flour *
• 1 1/4 tsp BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 2 large EGGS
• 3/4 cup SUGAR
• 1 1/2 tsp pure VANILLA EXTRACT**
• 1/2 cup canola OIL (vegetable or extra light olive oil also work)
• 1/2 cup BUTTERMILK ***

* See CAKE FLOUR substitution under 'TIPS'
** The real thing is better of course but I used regular vanilla extract and it still turned out good!
***See BUTTERMILK substitution under 'TIPS'

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F and line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners. (In my case, I just sprayed the whoopie pie pans with some cooking spray). In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cups cake flour -or Canadian flour (I had neither so I had to do the CAKE FLOUR substitution thing), 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Set flour mix aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 2 eggs with the whisk attachment on medium speed (15-20 seconds).
3. Add 3/4 cup sugar and continue to beat on medium speed (30 seconds).
4. Add vanilla and oil and beat on medium speed (1 minute)
5. Reduce mixer speed to medium/low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add half of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour mix and the rest of the buttermilk. Beat until just combined and smooth, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl. The batter should be thin.
6. Pour batter into a lined muffin pan. Fill to about 1/2 full.
7. Bake for 12 -14 minutes at 350 °F. My oven takes 14 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then remove. Note: if baking mini cupcakes, bake 10 minutes.

Whipped Cream Frosting
(Source)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 3-4 tablespoon powdered sugar (or more to taste)

Instructions:
In a large bowl beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add powdered sugar and vanilla and continue mixing on high speed until stiff peaks form.









CAKE FLOUR Substitution:
(Source)

Here's how to do it - Take one level cup of all purpose (AP) flour, remove two tablespoons, and then add two tablespoons of cornstarch back in.

1 cup AP flour - 2 Tablespoons AP flour + 2 Tablespoons cornstarch = 1 cup cake flour
Be sure to sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before using it in your cake batter. (Some sites recommend sifting 5 or more times!) When added to all-purpose flour, cornstarch will inhibit the formation of gluten while also giving structure and 'sponginess' to your cake.

Note: Of course, if you need more cake flour, increase/minus the ingredients accordingly, for example, 2 cups flour (minus 4 Tablespoons flour) with 4 Tablespoons corn starch, etc.


BUTTERMILK Substitution:
(Source)

- 1 cup Milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon vinegar

Combine ingredients and let stand 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, mix together well and use as buttermilk in any recipe!

...or as per this recipe, 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice.