Strawberry Shortcake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the sugar and shortening together until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes. Crack in the room-temperature egg, pour in the vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt, flour and baking powder. Pour 1/3 of the dry mixture into the wet mixture, and beat just until everything is combined. Pour in half the milk and beat. Repeat by alternately adding 1/3 of the dry mixture with the milk into the wet mixture until the last 1/3 portion of the dry mixture is beaten into the wet mixture. Test Kitchen Tip: Make sure you mix your dry ingredients really well before adding the dry mixture to the wet mixture. You don't want any pockets of baking powder in your finished cake.

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly to all four corners. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cake at room temperature on wire rack.

Cut the cake into nine servings. Split each serving horizontally. Dollop some of the whipped cream and the strawberries onto the bottom half the cake. Replace the top of the cake, and garnish with another dollop of whipped cream and more strawberries. Serve the strawberry shortcakes immediately.