Strawberry Shortcake Cakes

These mini Strawberry Shortcake Cakes have a light, fluffy (dairy-free) sponge filled with a mascarpone cream filling and fresh strawberries. A great recipe to enjoy in summer with seasonal strawberries.

strawberry shortcake cakes on wire rack

The following post is sponsored by Lindt & Sprüngli AG, but the content and opinions are my own.

As a mother to two young toddlers, my idea of the perfect Mother’s Day would start with a few extra hours in bed, preceded, of course, by an uninterrupted full night of sleep the evening before 😉 Upon waking up peacefully to a room filled with natural light, as opposed to the noisy demands of a grumpy child who desperately needs her Hello Kitty doll at 4 am (which, by the way, was sitting on said child’s pillow), I think breakfast in bed would be my idea of heaven.

With Mother’s Day around the corner, I think it will still be a few more years before my children will bring me breakfast in bed, although I definitely have it in my sights to train them for this indulgent, yet very important, life skill 😉

In the absence of any bedside pampering, my ideal way of celebrating Mother’s Day is by making something everyone in the family will enjoy.

One of our favourite cakes is a simple vanilla sponge cake sandwiched with freshly whipped cream and fresh strawberries, quite similar to the Vanilla Sponge Cake with Mascarpone Cream Frosting which I have previously shared.

strawberry shortcake cakes with icing sugar duster

But I thought it would be fun to make them in a mini version this time, the inspiration coming via Mimi Thorisson who shared the most dainty and cute Strawberry Shortcakes on her blog last year.

What Are Shortcakes?

As the name suggests, shortcakes contain shortening – either butter or lard – to make the texture soft and crumbly.

In the US, Strawberry Shortcakes are very popular, and these are essentially a large sweet scone (which the Americans call “biscuits”), split in half, spread with whipped cream and topped with fresh strawberries.

However, a popular variation of the Strawberry Shortcake is to use a vanilla sponge cake in place of the scone or biscuit. And such a variation is called a Strawberry Shortcake Cake.

A Strawberry Shortcake Cake is very similar to the British Victoria Sponge Cake, except the latter uses strawberry jam instead of fresh strawberries.

My recipe below for Strawberry Shortcake Cake is for an extra-light sponge which is dairy-free. And I have added mascarpone to the whipped cream to give it more body and creamy taste.

strawberry shortcake cakes with fresh strawberries

When the lovely people at Lindt sent me a box of their limited edition Strawberries & Cream Lindor Truffles, I knew that they would be the perfect match for these Strawberry Shortcake Cakes. And indeed, the subtle strawberry-scented white chocolate balls add just the right amount of sweetness to the mascarpone cream filling.

My children and I adore Lindor truffles, and we are always excited when the limited edition flavours are released. Although my favourite happens to be the classic milk chocolate Lindor truffles, my two children have a more sophisticated palate and always fight over the dark chocolate ones.

But I have a soft spot for white chocolate – there’s something about the nursery sweetness and scent of vanilla – and the Strawberries & Cream flavour tastes like summer in one sweet bite.

strawberry shortcake cakes with lindt lindor truffles

So there you have the perfect morning tea for Mother’s Day: Strawberry Shortcake Cakes, a large punnet of fresh strawberries, and a box of Strawberries & Cream Lindor Truffles. Simple, yet delicious.

strawberry shortcake cakes with box of lindt lindor truffles

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Strawberry Shortcake Cakes

strawberry shortcake lindor lindt

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5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: eatlittlebird.com
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 12 cakes
  • Category: Cakes
  • Cuisine: American

These mini Strawberry Shortcake Cakes have a light, fluffy (dairy-free) sponge filled with a mascarpone cream filling and fresh strawberries. A great recipe to enjoy in summer with seasonal strawberries.

Ingredients

For the cakes

For the cream filling

  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) double cream (heavy whipping cream)
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) mascarpone
  • 2 oz (50 g) Strawberries & Cream Lindor Truffles (or other good quality white chocolate)

To assemble

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
  2. Lightly butter a 12-hole muffin tin (see Kitchen Notes below).
  3. Separate the eggs. Place the whites into one large bowl, and the yolks into another large bowl. If you have two bowls for your stand mixer, now is the time to use them.
  4. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk them until stiff peaks form.
  5. Add the sugar and vanilla to the yolks, and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
  6. Sift the flour and baking powder into the yolk mixture, and mix until well-combined.
  7. Lightly fold the beaten egg whites, 1/3 at a time, into the batter.
  8. Fill the muffin tin with the batter. Each hole should be filled approximately half way. I find it is easiest to use an ice-cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter.
  9. Bake the cakes for about 15 minutes, or until the cakes are lightly golden on top.
  10. Let the cakes cool slightly before carefully removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  11. To make the filling, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water). Set aside to cool slightly.
  12. Whisk the cream until it is soft and thick. Add the mascarpone and continue whisking until the mixture has thickened and is firm enough to fill the cakes.
  13. Whisk in the melted chocolate.
  14. To assemble the cakes, slice each cake in half. I find it easier to pipe the cream using a piping bag, but you could simply use a small spatula. Top with sliced strawberries, followed by a bit more cream.

Kitchen Notes

You can omit the white chocolate from the cream filling.

I have made these cakes using a standard non-stick muffin tin, as well as in a silicon muffin mould. The cakes bake and rise beautifully in the non-stick muffin tin, but they don’t rise as much in a silicon mould. Hence, I would not use a silicon mould for this recipe.

To make this Strawberry Shortcake Cake in a larger size, please see my recipe for Vanilla Sponge Cake with Mascarpone Cream Frosting.

STORAGE TIPS
Due to the fresh cream filling, these cakes are best eaten on the day they are made. Any leftovers should be kept in the fridge.

OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.

CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 12
  • Calories: 204
  • Sugar: 19.4g
  • Sodium: 57.2mg
  • Fat: 9.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 28g
  • Fiber: 0.7g
  • Protein: 2.8g
  • Cholesterol: 83.9mg

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13 comments

  1. Vicky @ Avocado Pesto 30 April 2017

    This dessert is absolutely gorgeous and though I doubt your kids are capable of serving you breakfast in bed quite yet I do hope you they treat you on Mother’s day to a full night’s sleep as well as the ability to sleep in!






    Reply
  2. Mindy Fewless 30 April 2017

    These are so cute!! Perfect for a picnic!

    Reply
  3. Veena Azmanov 30 April 2017

    Oh these are so pretty! I love anything Strawberry and cream. Aww I now what you mean… I have two and my little one is into strawberry short cake.. which often gets lost just when she’s in bed… Happy Mothers day to you

    Reply
  4. Dannii 30 April 2017

    How cute are these! Such a delicious and classic flavour combination too. I bet these would be great to serve at a party.

    Reply
  5. These are so adborable! We are growing our own strawberries this year and this would be the perfect recipe for them.

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 1 May 2017

      We also grow strawberries at home, but there is usually never enough to satisfy the childrens’ demands! But this recipe does work best with good quality strawberries, and home-grown always tastes amazing.

      Reply
  6. Lorraine 15 May 2017

    Yum! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  7. Julia 16 April 2018

    Oooh, this looks SO good!!! This sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to try this one!






    Reply