Shortcakes live up to their name, but this simple sheet pan strawberry shortcake recipe really takes the cake for being squat. It's not a difficult recipe but takes a bit of time to prepare. The results — bright, in-season strawbs, thick, rich whipped cream and Thai basil — make it well worth it, though.

Prep: 40 minutes | Cooking: 18 minutes | Cooling: 1 hour | Macerating: 15 minutes | Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake
1 cup (150 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp  baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 eggs
3/4 cup (160 g) sugar

Strawberries
6 cups (810 g) quartered strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) orange liqueur (optional)
Thai basil leaves, for serving

Whipped Cream
2 1/2 cups (625ml) 35%cream
1/2 cup (105g) sugar

Directions

Cake
With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom of a sheet pan with parchment paper, letting it hang over two sides. Butter the paper and sides of the sheet pan. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale, is tripled in volume and falls from the beaters in a ribbon, about 10 minutes.

Sift the dry ingredients over the egg mixture and fold in with a whisk. Spread the batter out evenly on the sheet pan.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

Strawberries 
Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the strawberries with the sugar and orange liqueur, if using. Let macerate for 15 minutes. Drain the strawberries, keeping the syrup.

Whipped cream 
In a bowl, whisk the cream and sugar with an electric mixer until medium-firm peaks form.

To assemble, drizzle the cake with the strawberry syrup. Cover with the whipped cream and strawberries. Garnish with Thai basil leaves. The cake will keep for 2days in the refrigerator.

Excerpted from Sheet Pan Everything by Ricardo Larrivee. Copyright © 2021 Ricardo Media.Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.