Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake

Photo: flickr user The Gifted Photographer

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups Skim milk

2 teaspoons Vinegar

2 1/4 cups All-purpose flour

2 teaspoons Baking powder

1 pch Salt

1/2 cup + ⅓ cup sugar

2 tablespoons Shortening

2 Egg whites, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon Baking soda

4 cups Sliced strawberries

1 cup Thawed reduced-fat frozen whipped topping

Preparation

This old-fashioned favorite, originally a Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom recipe, needed little revision to make it healthful. The real key to success is using the ripest local berries you can find. To convert this recipe we used:* egg whites instead of a whole egg* reduced-fat topping instead of whipped cream.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Use a pastry blender to cut in the shortening. Stir in the milk mixture, egg whites and baking soda until well-mixed but still slightly lumpy. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and firm to the touch. In a small bowl,

TEST KITCHEN TIP: This shortcake is also delicious topped with slightly sweetened raspberries, blackberries, peaches and nectarines. Low-fat vanilla yogurt is a tasty substitute for the whipped topping.

Makes 6 servings.