Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes

This homemade individual-serving old-fashioned strawberry shortcakes recipe is easy to make and delicious.

The name shortcake probably derives from the fact that the butter is worked into the dry ingredients as it would in a pastry or short dough, rather then being beaten with the sugar before the dry ingredients and liquid are added. Though shortcake dough closely resembles one for baking powder biscuits, it is always sweetened, making it more moist and tender and better tasting with the slight acidity of the berries.

A shortcake needs to be baked right before it's served -- its flavor and texture are best then.

Instead of the strawberry version below, try a mixture of berries, or even peeled, sliced peaches with or without a few berries thrown in -- shortcakes are versatile and take advantage of the best fruit summer has to offer.

The amount of dough for this old-fashioned strawberry shortcakes recipe will make 8 individual shortcakes. If you want to make a single large strawberry shortcake, pat the dough into an 8-inch disk on the pan and bake as below.

[ Also worth trying: Leela Cyd Ross's Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe ]

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes

    Prep Time: 30 minutes

    Cook time: 15 minutes

    Yield: Serves 8

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes Ingredients

    4 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, drained, hulled and sliced

    3 tablespoons sugar

    1 teaspoon lemon juice

    Whipped cream:

    1 cup heavy whipping cream

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Shortcake biscuits:

    2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

    3 tablespoons sugar

    1 tablespoon baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold

    2/3 cup buttermilk, light cream or half-and-half

    1 large egg

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe Instructions

    1. Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl and fold in the sugar and lemon juice. Cover and reserve at room temperature until needed.

    2. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it holds a soft peak. Cover and refrigerate. If it's warm in the room, put the cream into the mixer or other bowl and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes before whipping.

    3. When you're ready to bake the shortcakes, set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 450 F.

    4. Combine the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse several times to mix. Cut the butter into 8 pieces and add to the bowl. Pulse repeatedly until the butter is finely incorporated.

    5. Add the buttermilk and egg to the bowl and pulse a few times to make a rough-looking wet mixture. Carefully remove the blade and use a large tablespoon to form 8 equal mounds of the dough on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.

    6. Bake the biscuits until they are well risen, golden and firm, about 15 minutes.

    7. While the biscuits are baking, re-whip the cream if it has softened and set out the plates for the shortcakes.

    8. Slide the paper from the pan to a cooling rack and cool the biscuits for a minute or two. Use a sharp knife to split each biscuit and place the bottom half on each plate. Spoon some of the berries on the biscuit, spooning some of the juices around it on the plate. Top with a spoonful of whipped cream and the second half of the biscuit.

    9. Serve immediately.

Nick Malgieri is the award-winning author of "Perfect Cakes ," "A Baker's Tour: Nick Malgieri's Favorite Baking Recipes from Around the World ," and "Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and More Made with Real Butter, Sugar, Flour, and Eggs, All Under 300 Calories Per Generous Serving "

[ Also worth trying: Leela Cyd Ross's Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe ]

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Nick Malgieri's Individual-Serving Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe

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