Strawberry Shortcake

 April's SweetShop has been MIA lately due to the lovely heat wave that hit Toronto this summer.  With no central air in my home, my oven has not been turned on in quite some time.  But the heatwave has lifted, and so I can bake again!

I had a family dinner to attend this past weekend for my boyfriend's sisters birthday, and at the birthday girl's request, the search for a yummy strawberry shortcake began!  Not knowing how many people would be attending, I did not want to make individual strawberry shortcakes.  There was a fear of having not enough, and you always want to have more dessert then not enough to serve!

I went shopping on Roncesvalles (a neighbourhood street in Toronto) and found some sweet and juicy Ontario strawberries. 

I came across a Barefoot Contessa's Strawberry Country Cake.  It sounded, and looked, delicious and I had to give it a try.   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/strawberry-country-cake-recipe/index.html

I put a layer of whipping cream (pure whipping cream only, of course!  None of that fake whipped topping that some people like to pull off as whipped cream) on both the top and the bottom, to ensure no strawberry sogginess throughout the cake. 

The cake was delicious!  With orange and lemon zest called for in the recipe, it added a little something extra to the Strawberry Shortcake.  And of course, you can never go wrong with Ontario strawberries.