Pound Cake Dessert Sandwiches



Pound Cake Dessert Sandwich with Strawberries by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

We all know about sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and supper, now meet a dessert sandwich - juicy strawberries dripping over whole milk ricotta, between two slices of buttery pound cake. This inspired and summery dessert comes from Susan Russo's delightful new cookbook, "The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches: Recipes, History and Trivia for Everything Between Two Slices of Bread." (Quirk, 2011).


The recipe is a terrific use for stale or leftover pound cake. It reminds me a little bit of the treat my husband's grandmother would fry up for him - mayonnaise-coated pound cake slices. Macerate some sliced strawberries in orange juice and zest, griddle the pound cake slices, spread with rich ricotta, and assemble all for a tasty dessert.

Begin with a loaf of my home-baked cream cheese pound cake, the only pound cake recipe you will ever need. Gather some berries and ricotta and you're in business.

Pound Cake Sandwich: The Ultimate Dessert Sandwich
from "The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches" by Susan Russo (Quirk, 2011)

Macerated Strawberries

2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh ripe strawberries, thinly sliced *see note
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
3 tablespoons orange juice
Zest of 1 small orange
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

About 2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 pound cake, sliced thin
1 (8-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta or mascarpone

1. A few hours beforehand, prepare strawberries: In a glass bowl, combine all ingredients for macerated strawberries. Toss well. Let rest at room temperature at least two hours.

2. Butter both sides of cake slices. Place on a hot buttered griddle and cook 2 minutes per side, or until golden. Remove from heat. For each sandwich, spread 2 tablespoons ricotta on one slice of grilled cake, top with a spoonful of berries, and close sandwich. Serve warm. Makes 4 to six, depending on the thickness of the cake.

* Frozen strawberries can be substituted for fresh; just reduce the amount of orange juice since frozen berries will release more liquid.

Check out more sandwich recipes from "The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches":

• Chicken salad from the Loveless Cafe
• The Jucy Lucy cheese-stuffed burger.