Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake delights us all with its bejeweled, sparkly appearance. But the key to making this dessert recipe properly is baking a real, honest-to-goodness shortcake, and this Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake recipe gets it right.

>This strawberry shortcake's extravagant layers -- fresh cream, juicy real berries, tender, sugar-encrusted sweet biscuits -- beg to be devoured and are a great party dessert. You can lay out all the ingredients and let people assemble to their heart's content.

You're not dealing with many items here, so ingredients have to be of the freshest and highest quality. The cream scone/biscuit base makes the perfect basket for just-macerated sun-ripened strawberries and softly whipped cream.

This old fashioned strawberry shortcake recipe also makes a superb accompaniment to morning coffee, the tender butter cakes soaking up the sharp bitter coffee nicely.

[ Also worth trying: Nick Malgieri's Individual-Serving Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe ]

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

    Prep Time: 30 minutes

    Cook time: 20 minutes

    Yield: Serves 10

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients

    Cream biscuits (shortcake):

    4 cups all-purpose flour

    2 tablespoons baking powder

    1 teaspoon salt

    1/3 cup sugar

    1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

    1 1/2 cups heavy cream, plus extra for glazing

    1 tablespoon vanilla

    2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

    Strawberry filling:

    4 cups strawberries, roughly chopped

    Sugar to taste

    Whipped cream:

    1 cup heavy whipping cream

    Pinch of salt

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe Instructions

    Preheat oven to 425F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

    In the bowl of a food processor (or just a regular bowl) pulse (or stir) the flour, baking powder salt, and sugar to combine.

    Add the butter cubes to processor and pulse until the butter is cut into the flour, until whole pieces of butter the size of large kidney beans remain (the butter should seem a little bit big to be left like that, but don't worry, you'll process more later).

    Add the cream and vanilla, and pulse again until a shaggy, sandy dough is formed. Turn dough onto a dry, clean work surface and gather all the bits into a ball, handling it as little as possible. You want the dough to be barely holding together. The dough will be sticky.

    Roll the dough ball to about an inch thick and cut with old jar, glass, biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Place on lined baking sheet, brush lightly with cream (adds a nice brown to finished dough) and sprinkle turbinado sugar onto each of the creamed, uncooked biscuits.

    Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until just golden brown. Allow to cool on wire rack.

    To assemble the Strawberry Shortcake:

    While the biscuits are in the oven, chop the strawberries and season with a little sugar, to taste. The sugar helps the fruit become juicy. You want the juice. Set aside for at least 10 minutes to fully develop flavor and juices.

    Whip the whipping cream in a stand mixer and add salt, sugar and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks form.

    To serve, slice a cooled shortcake in half, pile high with berries and a dollop of whipped cream. I like it best served at room temperature, but cold or biscuits hot from oven are both fine.

[ Also worth trying: Nick Malgieri's Individual-Serving Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe ]

 

Subscribe to Receive our Gourmet Recipes


Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake - Leela Cyd Ross Dessert Recipe

World-renowned chefs with an extraordinary passion for food share their passion on iHaveNet.com. These chefs make great cooking easier than imagined. Each gourmet recipe features expert advice and an easy-to-make recipe. Exactly what you need to transform your home cooking from acceptable to delectable

© Tribune Media Services