Strawberry shortcake is traditionally made with sponge cake or a biscuit-like cake base that provides a crumbly yet slightly dense texture. The cake itself is usually mildly sweet to complement the sweetness of the fresh strawberries and whipped cream topping. While there can be variations in recipes for strawberry shortcake, commonly it involves baking individual round cakes or splitting larger cakes into layers to create the base for assembling the dessert.