Old-Fashioned Short Cake With Strawberries

Simple and quick to make,this recipe produces a stunning and elegant two-tier dessert with a minimum of effort. And it is oh so satisfying - somewhere between a homemade cake and a biscuit. It holds up beautifully under the juicy strawberries without becoming grainy, like sponge cake, or overly soggy. The shortnin' part of its name comes from the process of cutting the fat into the flour to make a "short" dough, but this recipe uses butter.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 8-12

Ingredients

• 1  quart strawberry, sliced and sprinkled with
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup butter, divided
• 2  cups flour
• 4  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 2  eggs, separated
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1  cup  whipped cream
• 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Butter two 9" round pans with 1/2 tablespoon butter each.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and nutmeg.
3. Cut in remaining butter.
4. Mix together milk and egg yolks in a small bowl.
5. Stir into dry ingredients with a fork till a soft dough forms.
6. Pat dough evenly in the two pans (wet fingers, if too sticky).
7. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
8. Brush surface of dough with egg whites and sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup sugar.
9. Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from pans to wire racks and let cool completely. (Layers will be thin.).
11. Arrange on serving plate as cake, cream (whipped with powdered sugar) and strawberries. Repeat the layers to form a beautiful 2 layer shortcake.