Homemade Birthday

Strawberries are DH's all time favorite fruit. With an early summer birthday the ruby red berries are in peak form for his big day. Angel food cake and fresh strawberries are the classic birthday cake go to for him. Some version of shortcake also makes a regular appearance at birthday celebrations.

This year I went in search of something new. And this Cook's Illustrated Strawberry Cream Cake did not disappoint. DH declared it the best birthday cake ever. While it's a three-part effort, none of the steps are too complicated and while the final product looks a little more rustic than the model pic, the taste was divine.

I'm late in posting so I know peak strawberry picking season has past, but good market berries would be worth picking up to make this if you need a good summer show stopper dessert.