Polish Housewife

Polish recipes served up with tidbits of folklore, customs, and history

Red Fruit Shortcake

by 7 Comments

Heavenly Cake Baker Submission #53
Our friends, Janet and Bill, were hosting a dinner party last week for a bunch of Americans.  I asked if I could bring this shortcake for dessert.  It’s good to have help eating these cakes.  It turned out to be the birthday of one of the guests, so thankfully, our hostess had candles, and the shortcake became a birthday cake.
I think the timing of this cake was perfect.  I was able to find both strawberries and raspberries in the market, and Ed and I thought they were both the best we’ve had all season.  I can buy fresh currants here too.
I was so excited the first time I saw currants.  I had to buy a package and had visions of whipping up some yummy dessert.  Sampling the red currants turned out to be a huge disappointment.  They were tart, as expected, but the little red gems were also chock full of little seeds.  I was hoping for a texture more like a seedless grape.  The package of currants sat in the fridge for a long time and eventually, went in the trash.
I decided to substitute dried cranberries for the red currants.  I soaked a cup of cranberries for about 20 minutes in 2 tablespoons of brandy and enough boiling water to fill the cup.  The liquid took the place of the Chambord in my syrup, and it was delicious!
The cake was baked in a 9 inch springform pan, and I hollowed out the center to make room for the berries.
I made adorable pink meringue kisses, that were much larger than they should have been – a tasty addition never the less.
We served the shortcake with a bit of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.  It was delicious.
He looks pleasantly surprised, don’t you think?

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don’t post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group’s baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted join in.

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Comments

  1. Jenn

    This cake is really good isn’t it? I love your meringue chips – they look like white chocolate chips. I’ve made some before but didn’t feel like making it this time.

    Reply

  3. Marie

    The little meringue kisses are so cute! I like the way you just toss in as an aside that you made them (as if it were nothing!).
    You’re right–it’s so nice not to have to worry about having leftover cake, although the times that it’s eaten up are invariably the times when you really want a second piece.

    Reply

  5. Hanaa

    Oooooh those meringue kisses look cute! And the cake is beautiful. No wonder the birthday boy was happy :o) I guess I could have made meringue kisses too because I used medium eggs and I needed 7 egg yolks and had plenty of egg whites leftover (which went into the freezer).

    Reply

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