First, this shit is delicious.
Second, this shit is so freaking delicious.
It's pretty easy to make too.
Granted, it's not really 'from scratch' shortcake (I bought some sponge cake), which is why this is called "Strawberry Shortcake Tortenboden" after all. Cause I used store-bought Tortenboden.
I just like to say the word 'Tortenboden'. I like to use a lilting swedish accent when I do it too. Cause I'm cool. NOT as cool as Tortenboden is though. That shit's the MAN!
Anyway... what you'll need if you're doing it this way, is: strawberries, strawberries, some more strawberries, some tortenboden or tortenboden tarts, a handful of icing sugar, some spices (I used pepper and cardamom) and a pinch of corn starch. Oh... and whipping cream (so some sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream).
It take a little while, but it's actually rather easy.
This (my) version is unique. I didn't follow any recipes ever. In fact, no recipes were consulted in the concocting of this dessert.
:)
So, first things first, we're going to get started on the strawberry sauce.
I guess the FIRST thing you should do is wash and sliver (quarter) about two pints of strawberries.
Once sliced, put a small amount - about a cup - of slivered strawberries into a blender and purée the mix until totally liquefied. The remainder of your sliced berries can be put in a medium mixing bowl, and put aside for now.
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Get the strawberry purée cooking in a small saucepan on medium-low.
Chop up about another cup of strawberries, even finer than before (roughly strawberry eighths).
Add that to the 'sauce' mixture in your saucepan, and let it cook for about 15 minutes, until thoroughly softened and a little thicker.
Then it's just add some thickener and some spices.
You can use a variety of 'dessert' spices here, including things like cinnamon and nutmeg, but I chose to go with cardamom. I love pairing freshly ground cardamom with fresh fruit. It's tasty.
So, into the pot goes the freshly mulched cardamom seeds, along with a generous dose of black pepper. YES, BLACK PEPPER! Trust me. It's delicious.
OK, now add a few generous spoonfuls (I'd guess around a cup in total) of icing sugar.
And about two teaspoons of corn starch, pre-whisked into a small amount of liquid (like skim milk).
Stir those in separately, and well, and you'll notice the strawberry sauce will start to look nice and goopy!
Once that has been successfully sweetened, flavoured, and thickened, take the whole pot OFF of the heat and let it cool. If you like, you can rest your saucepan in a shallow amount of cold water in your sink... but be careful.
Now mix up your whipped cream. If you're a weirdo and you don't know how to make your own whipped cream, please see my post on 'How to Make Whipped Cream'.
Get everything altogether and all ready to be assembled.
So, in order (from bottom to top), this is going to be, tortenboden tarts, strawberry sauce, strawberry quarters, and a dollop of whipped cream on top (or the side).
Pour out all your sauce into the tarts. If there's more sauce than tarts, don't stress, it will actually be cool to spill some over the sides.
At this point you can serve them up.
Put the fresh fruit and whipped cream on top immediately after plating each individual tart... so, if you're serving up all of them, then just go ahead and get out all your individual plates and assemble them all on those.
Because I made six tortes and was only serving up two tonight, I plated and assembled two, and then just covered everything else as-is and put them (keeping the whipped cream, fresh fruit, and sauced-up-tortes, all in separate containers) in the fridge.
Anyway, I think I may have mentioned earlier that this shit is epic delicious... because it is.
Like... mind-blowingly scrumptious.
:)
