TBB - Lemon Posset Shortcakes

I was almost forced to skip this week's challenge. My left wrist had started acting up again, out of nowhere. But then all the Alpha Bakers started saying how wonderful the Lemon Posset Shortcakes were, so I had to come up with something.

Shortcuts, shortcuts.... I had some Super Lemony Muffins in the freezer which I had made for my other baking group, Avid Baker's Challenge. This is the first time that the baked product of one baking group aids in a dessert of another :o)

I need more shortcuts... Hmmm. There is no shortcut for Lemon Posset. Or is there? An idea began to form in my head. I watched some videos on how to make Lemon Posset on YouTube to get a sense for the milky consistency immediately after cooking. It was still fairly runny, and that's when I knew my idea would work. What is my idea? Well, if England and South America got married, and had a baby, it would be named Lemon Posset Leche Cake. Yes, I used the warm Lemon Posset mixture to soak my Super Lemony Muffins, Tres Leches-style. It was awesome!! :o)

Lemon Posset Leche Cake with a chocolate whipped cream shell border. I love lemon + chocolate!

HCB - Whipped Cream Cake

Update (Jan 6, 2010): Amazon has posted 3 recipes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes on its site, one of them being the recipe for the Whipped Cream Cake. Click HERE to go straight to the recipe. If my post on this cake, doesn't convince you to make it, nothing else will :o)


Whipped Cream Cake has been chosen as the first recipe of the year from Rose's Heavenly Cakes, for the Heavenly Cake Bakers to bake. This cake contains no butter. All of the fat, not counting fat in egg yolks, comes from using whipped cream. Interesting, huh? I thought so!


My friend made this cake a couple of months ago and I loved it. The very first bite reminded me of my favorite childhood (butter) cake. How can this cake taste buttery when there's no butter in it? :o) Needless to say, I was very excited to make it myself this week. To make this cake extra special, I used a rose-shaped bundt pan.

I was so happy it came out of the pan in one piece. Thanks to Baker's Joy with Flour!

About 2 hours after the cake came out of the oven, it was cooled completely (thanks to our below zero temperatures). I couldn't wait to take a bite (so what, if it's 11:00pm?). I boiled water to make tea, then cut two slices (hubby wanted to taste it too), took a few pictures and then brought everything downstairs. Without tasting it, I knew the cake was moist, and in looking at the cake's crumb, I knew it was going to be soft and tender. The first bite was everything I imagined it to be. Actually, each bite was. I was going to ask hubby how he liked it, but seeing how he was scraping the remaining crumbs on his plate onto his fork, I had my answer. The best part about eating a cake the same day it's baked, is that the inside is soft and melts in your mouth, while the outer edges of the cake are still crispy. Another winner!!!

An inside look. Have a bite! :o)

SMS #5 -Strawberry Shortcakes

This week's SMS recipe was chosen by Wendy from Pink Stripes. What a great choice!! Thank you, Wendy. Not only had I never eaten shortcakes before, I had never made them before either, so this was a perfect opportunity to do both :o) Check out the recipe here.

I cut the recipe in half. Some SMS bakers commented that the shortcakes were pretty big, so instead of 3 shortcakes, I decided to make 4 (smaller) shortcakes, which ended up being big enough for us. The shortcakes turned out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I ended up needing 1 tsp less cream in the dough. The lemon zest in them was definitely a good addition. I decided to add some freshly ground cardamom to the shortcake dough which added spiciness as well as a lemony aroma. Instead of regular sugar, I used raw (turbinado) sugar to sprinkle on top of the shortcakes.


The kitchen smelled so nice while the shortcakes were baking. While the shortcakes were in the oven, I macerated the sliced strawberries and whipped the cream. As soon as the shortcakes were cool enough, I used a fork to split open the shortcakes and was pleasantly surprised at the tender crumb. The assembly was truly a piece of (short) cake :o)


Final thoughts/tips:

• Hubby and I enjoyed these strawberry shortcakes very much. It's such a simple dessert that's packed with great flavor. I would definitely make them again.
• Leftover shortcakes (not assembled) were great the next day, although they were a tiny bit crumbly which was fine.
• I used a large pizza cutter to cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.
  
• Don't forget to check out the other SMS bakers' Strawberry Shortcakes.