Strawberry Shortcake

This is an assembly entry: it assumes you already have baked shortcake layers and turns them into the finished dessert. A few of its assumptions need spelling out.

• What "short cake" means hereIn American books of this period the shortcake is generally a rich biscuit dough — flour, baking powder, butter or lard, milk — baked as two or three thin rounds, not a sponge cake and not the sweetened cup-shaped sponge sold in supermarkets. This entry gives no baking directions of its own.
• QuantitiesNone are given. For two 8-inch layers, reckon on about 1 quart (roughly 1 1/2 lb) of berries and 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, adjusted to how ripe the fruit is.
• Sweeten, then waitThe instruction to sweeten is the hinge. Sugar the hulled berries and leave them 20-30 minutes so they release juice; that syrup is what soaks the layers. Sugaring at the last moment gives dry fruit and dry cake.
• Crush part of the fruit"Spread between" works best if half the berries are lightly crushed and the rest left in pieces. Whole uncrushed berries roll out when the cake is cut.
• "Bottom layers"The plural implies a three-layer cake with fruit between each, the top round reserved plain for the whole-berry garnish. Two layers work equally well.
• Cream or custardCream here most likely means unwhipped cream poured over at the table; custard would be a stirred egg custard. The entry calls for one or the other and does not mention whipped cream.
• Assemble lateThe recipe gives no timing, but a filled shortcake softens as the juice soaks in, so it is best filled shortly before serving.
• YieldTwo 8-inch layers with a quart of berries serve six to eight.