During the Spring, the strawberry fields near my area begin to open for self-picking, for a fee, of course .. The Amish and the Mennonites begin to set up road side stands, offering strawberries and large potted mums at a relatively inexpensive price, creating colorful flower oasis on the byways .. although it is becoming more and more rare, you still sometimes will see a horse and buggy ..
I am a self admitted Pound Cake Shortcaker .. I find the round, indented strawberry receptacles sold at the Grocer to be lacking in character and just way to spongy .. they, I feel sure, are a fairly modern invention designed to sell a specific product for use with the berry .. although not having researched Strawberry Lore, I also feel sure in saying the Original Strawberry Shortcake (OSS) was a real cake of sorts ..
The Pound Cake, when properly baked, provides the ideal bed with which to lay the ripest, sweetest berries on .. in my case, I shun the artificial liquids and what not that are commonly used to mash the berries into a pulp with, since I feel this is an injustice to the intent of the berry in general and a travesty to all Good Berries .. thusly, two one inch to one half inch thick slices of Pound Cake Loaf Style, drizzled with some Strawberry syrup, a generous layer of Fresh Ripe Strawberries, taken from the field that day if possible, sliced at least in half, topped by a nice top hat of Cool Whip (the low fat variety, since I don't really taste a big difference) that has been allowed to defrost just enough so that's it's not hard anymore .. thus, creating a free form delicacy ..
I have indulged in actual Strawberry Shortcake as in a full cake, iced with whip cream and layered with whipped cream and strawberries .. and while it is a satisfying selection, I lean toward preferring the much more personal, Individual Strawberry Shortcake (ISS) .. I have also heard of the elusive Strawberry Shortcake Pie, although I have yet to run across one in the Wild .. other variations being the Waffle, the Angel Food Cake hybrid, the Twinkie, the Cheesecake, the Parfait, the Cupcake .. etc
As a side note, I find Cool Whip to be one of the more underappreciated commodities of the Modern World ..