Strawberries — Cream Cake — Something Sweet When the Week Asks for It

Snow on Black Mountain Tuesday. Three inches. The roads were greasy by Wednesday. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 85. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Biscuits and gravy Sunday morning. Connie's biscuits — buttermilk, lard, cut and rolled. Sausage gravy.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called from Louisville. Hospital is busy. Floor nurse to charge nurse to nurse manager — she is the most successful Hensley alive.

Connie made biscuits. The biscuits were biscuits. Some things stay.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

Amber sent those school photos this week — Nadia taller, Marcus with that serious face, little Betty with Mama’s eyes — and I sat there at the kitchen table a long time just looking at them. Connie made biscuits Sunday, and that was enough. But by the end of the week, with the wood split and old Roy doing better and Travis’s boy wearing that Hensley shirt on the mower, I wanted something celebratory on the table, something soft and sweet that felt like it matched the week finally turning. This Strawberries & Cream Cake is the kind of thing Connie would make when the family comes in, and that’s reason enough.

Strawberries & Cream Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes (plus cooling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced (for filling)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for macerating strawberries)
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for whipped cream)
• 1 cup fresh whole strawberries, for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
5. Alternate dry and wet. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions (flour—milk—flour—milk—flour). Mix just until combined; do not overmix.
6. Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 28–32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Macerate strawberries. While the cake cools, toss the sliced strawberries with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a small bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes until juicy. Drain off excess liquid before using.
8. Make whipped cream. Beat the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together on high speed until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat.
9. Assemble. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous layer of whipped cream over the top, then scatter the macerated strawberry slices evenly across. Place the second cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream.
10. Garnish and chill. Arrange the whole fresh strawberries decoratively on top. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing to allow the layers to set.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 190mg