Strawberry Shortcake With Lemon-Pepper Syrup

Name: Strawberry Shortcake With Lemon-Pepper Syrup
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: One 9-inch cake (8 servings)
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, more for greasing pan; 2 quarts strawberries (about 2 pounds); 25 grams superfine sugar (about 2 tablespoons); 1 lemon, zested; 155 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups); 4 grams baking powder (about 1 1/4 teaspoons); 3 grams salt (about 1/2 teaspoon); 2 large eggs; 1 large egg white; 330 grams granulated sugar (about 1 3/4 cups); 1/3 cup whole milk, warmed; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper; 2 cups heavy whipping cream; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 1½ hours
Rating: 5(587)
Notes: Read community notes

Here’s a take on the perfect summer birthday cake: a buttery, vanilla-scented spongecake doused with ripe strawberries and fresh whipped cream, gilded with a spicy-tart syrup to cut the sweetness. After the cake cools, you’ll cut it into two layers and put them back together with the sliced strawberries, which have been resting in some sugar and lemon zest, your whipped cream and the lemon-pepper syrup. Then top the whole thing with more whipped cream and serve it up. It’s a couple of hours of your time, resulting in a treat appropriate to welcome anyone’s next trip around the sun.

Featured in: Strawberry Shortcake Forever

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Ingredients

Yield:One 9-inch cake (8 servings)

2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, more for greasing pan
2quarts strawberries (about 2 pounds)
25grams superfine sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
1lemon, zested
155grams all-purpose flour (about 1¼ cups)
4grams baking powder (about 1¼ teaspoons)
3grams salt (about ½ teaspoon)
2large eggs
1large egg white
330grams granulated sugar (about 1¾ cups)
⅓cup whole milk, warmed
2teaspoons vanilla extract
⅛teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2cups heavy whipping cream
1teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter or cooking spray. Line with baking paper and grease the parchment.
Step 2
Cut off tops of strawberries and thinly slice half of them, leaving remaining berries whole. Mix sliced strawberries with superfine sugar and half the lemon zest. Set aside.
Step 3
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip eggs and egg white on high speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually pour in 230 grams (1¼ cups) granulated sugar and whip on high speed until mixture is a pale yellow color and has thickened enough to mound onto itself when beater is lifted, 1 to 3 minutes.
Step 4
Using a rubber spatula, gently and patiently fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Fold in milk, vanilla and butter until completely combined.
Step 5
Gently pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in pan. Invert cake onto a cooling rack and peel off baking paper. Let cool completely.
Step 6
Meanwhile, in a small pot, whisk together remaining 100 grams ( ½ cup) granulated sugar, ¼ cup water and the pepper. Simmer on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining lemon zest.
Step 7
Whip heavy cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.
Step 8
Using a serrated knife, horizontally slice cake in half. Generously brush each cut side with lemon-pepper syrup. Transfer the bottom half to a cake plate, cut side up, and spoon sliced strawberries and any juices over it. Spread half the whipped cream over sliced strawberries and gently place the other cake half on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake (or mound it all on the top). Garnish with whole strawberries and drizzle with more lemon-pepper syrup for serving.

Ratings

5 out of 5

587 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Sb6 years ago

This is an amazing recipe. I've made it many times over the past few years. Perfect as is. DONT OMIT THE PEPPER. The pepper isn't over-powering and really makes this cake sing. This is one of those cakes that's even better the second day when the flavors have melded. It's also delicious the first day and absolutely beautiful to behold. Enjoy!

Dal6 years ago

I made these as a pancake-cake by using 3 whole eggs, 1/2 c sugar, and whole wheat flour. Everything else stayed the same. I cooked the batter as pancakes, brushed with syrup, and layered with strawberries and a brown sugar whipped cream. Fabulous!

Alison3 years ago

Can this cake be made in advance? How soon before serving should it be assembled with the syrup, strawberries and cream?

Pjwms6 years ago

Delicious. I was initially concerned that there was no sweetness added to the whipped cream but the syrup on the layers and the strawberry filling more than made up for that. It was a perfect combination.

Kathryn5 years ago

I was initially afraid that the liquid of both the syrup and the strawberries would make the cake soggy, but the sponge cake absorbs the liquid well! Do not be afraid to be generous on the syrup, it is the best part of the recipe. The cake is very good, but the look of it is what makes it great.

Colette6 years ago

This shortcake is quick, elegant looking, and seems fool proof. First event I made it exactly as the recipe stated and it was delicious. Second event I switched out the simple syrup for an equal amount of honey and liked it even better. Also increased the pepper to 1/2 tsp, and really, could see making it 3/4 to 1 tsp to be able to taste the pepper. Its a good and fast way to serve strawberry shortcake to a large group, minus all the last minute fussing.

Pat philipps4 years ago

I couldn’t get the egg mixture to “mound” on itself. Should my eggs have been cold instead of room temp?

Kim4 years ago

I tried to serve this cake the same day I'd made it, chilling it in the fridge for about 5-6 hours before serving. It was difficult to slice and fell apart before it made it to plates! The next day it held together much better, but the bottom layer is completely soaked through. Next time I'd put 2/3 of the syrup on the TOP layer, especially if the strawberries are giving up a lot of juice. Looks really impressive though!

Barbara2 years ago

My farm eggs didn't mound, either, but seems to have made no difference. Thanks to Colette, Kim, and Halina, I substituted honey for the syrup, added more pepper and lemon zest and a bit of salt. I also poured most of the syrup on the top layer of the cake. Limoncello was a good addition to the whipped cream. Made & assembled cake at noon and stuck some toothpicks in the top to hold plastic wrap aloft. Looked gorgeous and was a big hit. Had difficulty not slurping the syrup.

Linnea5 years ago

A great and easy cake to make. I think next time I'd add a splash of chambord or other liqueur to the whipped cream to make it less bland. The pepper and lemon zest is a must, and I got creative with the leftover strawberries, cut them up and made a design on top :) Very pretty and delicious result

Halina4 years ago

Made this for Christmas dinner and it was easy, plus a huge hit. Finished it at 2 pm and ate at about 1030 pm. Perfect consistency. Followed recipe to a T except knew I’d need more pepper so quadrupled it. Probably more zest too since lemon was huge. Would add even more pepper, zest, and possibly some salt to syrup next time for more salty sweet reminiscent of southern strawberry shortcake (made with biscuits) But I think as is the recipe is Fab.

Thom4 years ago

This is heavenly! The picture shows what looks like sugar frosting while the recipe is more like fluffy whipped cream. I couldn't get the egg and sugar to the point of "mounding on top of itself" even after 5 minutes of beating. Decided to plow ahead, anyway, out of fear of completely ruining the cake. In the end, it worked out just fine. Used caster sugar for the sliced strawberries and organic cane sugar for everything else. Added a bit of Grand Marnier to the whipped cream.

didnt rise!4 years ago

Cake was flat, beat eggs and sugar longer

MacDaddy6 years ago

Don't leave the pepper out, you're kissing the whole point! Winner recipe. Showstopper quality. Pretty and delicious, like a pastry.

Mik3 weeks ago

I made this for my dogs birthday (for the human guests) and it was a hit! I used two 6” pans instead of the 9”, and although they came out of the oven perfectly (using the same temp/time), the structural integrity was lacking after piling on the toppings. Aesthetic, but not worth the stress of it all falling apart after the first cut. Next time I’ll probably omit the lemon syrup (delicious, but sooo sweet) and add some blueberries. Maybe use a 9” pan if I’m feeling practical.

T8 months ago

Perfect recipe. Still doable with only a pint of strawberries (just kept 3 for topping). Anyone replacing the pepper and/or syrup altogether is defeating the purpose. All the flavors come together perfectly.

Stephanie F.8 months ago

Delicious cake which is quite sweet on its own. You may want to cut the sugar a bit if you prefer it less sweet. I cut the cake into individual shortcakes, substituted blueberries and left out the pepper. The unsweetened whipped cream is key to balancing out the sweet cake, berries and syrup and I layered blueberries and cream in between the layers as well as on top. Fantastic and will make again.

Laurie9 months ago

Delicious! Everyone raved about this cake that was served for a birthday. The birthday person does not like lemon in desserts, so instead of the lemon-pepper syrup, I made a strawberry syrup, adding homemade strawberry jam to the simple syrup. Then brushed that onto both layers. It was so good, everyone wanted a second piece.

Christine9 months ago

This is strawberry shortcake perfection, IMO! I made the recipe exactly as is. It will be my go-to recipe during strawberry season!

kh10 months ago

The cake is way too sweet. Cut the sugar by at least 1/2 cup so not as overpowering. Great flavor that would shine thru with less.

Susan11 months ago

Very delicious, but I did alter this to make it more tiramisu-like by using approximately 24 oz of mascarpone whipped with approximately 12 oz of heavy cream to generously frost this cake. (I probably could have used about 25% less of each.) I think this lent more physical substance to the cake and a mouthier counterpoint to the sweet strawberry filling. I also added a touch more pepper to the syrup, and would make a larger quantity next time for the table.

California Cook11 months ago

Made this exactly as written for a friends birthday-was skeptical about the pepper but it’s perfect. This is easy, delicious and a visual delight!

lily1 year ago

i used pink peppercorns for the syrup. this was a major hit. everything a cake should be.

Stella1 year ago

I'm not totally sure what happened to my cake, but it ended up needing closer to 45 or 50 minutes in the oven. When it cooled off a bit, the middle caved in a bit but I salvaged it by cutting down the sides a bit. This made the two layers a little thinner but honesty it worked out - I just modified the proportions of the the whipped cream and strawberries. Delicious and super easy and fast.

cynthia1 year ago

This cake was amazing, truly the best cake I’ve ever had, and instead of regular whip we used plant based whip Whole Foods 365 brand from the freezer section. This cake was off the charts good, can’t recommend enough!

Diane1 year ago

I loved this cake but I had to remake the syrup because it was way too cooked when reduced by half. Even the second time when I cooked it exactly 5 minutes, it was too thick to spread. Did I misunderstand something? I did make it work and all was good- but I would cook the syrup less next time.

Terrible Recipe!1 year ago

Too much sweet and tastes nothing like strawberry shortcake

rp1 year ago

A strawberry shortcake cake is a good idea but who’s cake was flat and I was not impressed overall

modesta h1 year ago

This was literally so delish! I’m not much of a baker cut it was perfection! My cake didn’t get soggy and it was beautifully not so sweet! Thanks NY Times!

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