The "It's Time Again for Dinette Cake" Story

It was an ordinary day. It's 5:00 PM and I'm baking a cake to eat with the strawberries we just bought at Costco. I wrote a story about favorite desserts a year ago, but didn't tell you how to go about making any of them, so I'm adding a chapter to the story. The strawberries that we brought home today are the sweetest smelling, juiciest, brightest red, and biggest strawberries I have every seen or smelled. They are the size of a small apple or a big lemon. And, red the whole way to the center. As soon as I saw the quality of the berries at Costco, I knew exactly what I was going to do with them; Strawberry Short Cake! Carol has a recipe for shortcake, actually known as "Dinette Cake", that she had been making for me for years, and when I retired from teaching over 10 years ago, I took over the task of making the cake, since I am the one who usually eats it. It tastes best with strawberries, but you could use it with peaches, blueberries, or any other fruit you like. I have! I start by turning on the oven to 350 degrees and getting out a 9" square pan. Make sure you measure all the ingredients accurately or it might not taste right. At least that's what Carol tells me every time I make it! One time I used 10X sugar instead of flour, and she was right! Really gross!! I have included the recipe for you and you'll notice that the color of the paper on which it is printed is yellow. That's because the Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book that it comes from is older than a lot of you reading this story. Carol got it when she was a sophomore in high school. A long, long, long time ago! When baking, I usually bake it 30 minutes rather than the 35 that can be used. After about 10 minutes the kitchen smells of the sugary mixture. That's when LDub starts to get excited about dessert time. OK, the buzzer on the oven just went off. Time to check to see if it's finished. I use a wooden toothpick to push into the cake and pull out to see if it is done. If nothing sticks to it, it is finished! If something does stick to it, give it the extra 5 minutes and try again. I know most of you know all about doing this, but I only found out about it 10 years ago. Well, it's hard not to want to dig in right away, but I do let it set at least 15 minutes before cutting it and having my dessert. Love it when it is warm. My wife had a small piece for dessert tonight with strawberries while I had a piece 4 1/2" x 4 1/2", a quarter of the cake, with tons of strawberries on it. I always pour cold milk over mine. I'll have enough for two more pieces before it's all gone. Better get some more sugar at the store. The container's almost empty and I'll be making more soon. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top are: huge Costo strawberries, Betty's Cookbook, mixing of the ingredients, checking to see if it is baked properly, THE CAKE, THE DESSERT!! The recipe follows for the Dinette Cake; delicious!