I tried to resist writing a post about OLD FASHION STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE. It’s been done to death and yet here I am punching away at my key board. I can’t help it. Since childhood, the sight or even the scent of a real shortcake renders me totally captivated. Note the word in italics… I’m actually pretty particular as to how I like my shortcake.
Starting with the cream – it has to be full fat, whipped almost to butter and ever so slightly sweetened with sugar [no sweetener substitute]. Next the berries; hand-picked and local, room temperature, quartered not crushed and again sweetened perfectly with white sugar so as to render a delicate syrup that will soak into the cake. Which brings us to the ‘short’ part of the strawberry shortcake; the biscuit. No angel food cake replacement for me. A buttery, flakey, fresh biscuit is the only possibility if you’re to build the perfect STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE,
Finally the build; start with a shallow serving dish. This allows the strawberry syrup to spread out so that only the bottom half of your biscuit half soaks in the juice. This is serious! Place half of a biscuit in the dish then spoon a generous portion of prepared strawberries and syrup over top. Next a big dollop of whipped cream into which sits the top of the biscuit. Another dollop of whipped cream with a garnish of whipped cream and a sprig of fresh mint.
The food blogger in me toyed with flavouring the whipped cream with an herbal infusion, adding mascarpone to the biscuits and even roasting the strawberries with balsamic vinegar. All of the embellishments would have been fun but when you wait a whole year for these little beauties why mess with perfection?
OLD FASHION STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
makes 12 cakes
preheat oven 450*F
SHORTCAKE:
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
½ cup cold butter, divided into eights
2/3 cup milk
THE STEPS:
- Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and place in large mixing bowl.
- Using a pastry blender cut in butter until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Add milk and stir until JUST combined.
- Place dough on a floured board and knead 5 times then roll to 1″ thickness.
- Cut cakes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place in oven on bottom rack and bake 10 – 12 minutes on until golden.
- Top with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream.
THE LOVE: To one pint of whipping cream, I use ¼ cup of sugar. To one quart of fresh strawberries, I use ½ cup of sugar. Adjust to your own taste.
How do you like your strawberry shortcake? I’d love to hear…
Tropical Storm Arthur hit our region Saturday. I’ve been without power since, so I’m back in the city until at least Wednesday. Fingers crossed that the power is restored before my girls arrive…
one year ago: easy hamburger buns
two years ago: we began in Venice
three years ago: whole-grain bread with wild flower honey
Recipes are for sharing and I love it when you share mine.
Thanks for reading.
