Katherine Sabbath's Simple Yet Seriously Impressive Strawberry Shortcake

Welcome to Put on a Spread, a recipe series that takes you inside the kitchens – and dining rooms – of some of our favourite home cooks. For this instalment, master baker and dessert extraordinaire Katherine Sabbath shares her recipe for a seriously impressive strawberry shortcake.  

When it comes to birthdays, anniversaries and momentous occasions, there really is no better way to celebrate than with a stunning cake – and a triple layer one at that. And while we're all for adventurous flavours, the classics is what we always come back to. A strawberry shortcake – built with layers of plain cake, cream, and berries – is one such classic that will never go out of style.

Katherine Sabbath's strawberry shortcake recipe she shares below is delightfully crumbly, topped with freshly whipped vanilla bean cream and juicy marinated strawberries. It's just as beautiful as it is tasty – especially when paired with colourful linen tableware. Katherine has opted for our Pink Clay tablecloth, Terracotta & Rust scalloped placemats, and Lavender napkins on her table here. 

So, at your next big get-together, make a cake that will wow your guests and put on a spread they won't soon forget. 

Serves: 10

Ingredients

For the berries:

• 2 x punnets (500g) strawberries, quartered
• 2 tbsp icing sugar mixture
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the shortcake:

• 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 80g (1/3) cup caster sugar
• pinch sea salt flakes
• 500ml (2 cups) cream 

For the whipped cream

• 500ml (2 cups) thickened cream, chilled
• 50g (1/4) cup icing sugar mixture
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C (350°F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 3 x 6 inch cake pan with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, add the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and gently stir to combine. Set aside. The sugar and lemon juice will help bring out the natural juices in the strawberries and create a light sauce.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Add the cream and stir to combine. The mixture will be very sticky! Divide mixture into cake pans (grease your spoon or spatula with cooking oil spray to prevent the batter from sticking to it during this step) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of cakes are golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and place pans on cooling rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile make the whipped cream. In a bowl or in a kitchen mixer, beat the cold whipped cream until soft peaks form. Add icing sugar and vanilla, and beat for another 1-2 minutes.

Once the cakes have cooled, place a large dollop of whipped cream onto the bottom layer of the cake. Spread gently to the outer edges, and top with the strawberry mixture. Repeat with the remaining two layers, dusting with extra icing sugar mixture if desired.

Shop Katherine's look with our Pink Clay tablecloth, Terracotta & Rust scalloped placemats, and Lavender napkins. 

For more from Katherine, follow her at @katherine_sabbath

Hungry for more? Explore more recipes from our favourite home cooks here.