Dear Eric: Can you tell me how to make strawberry shortcake? Would like to serve it at a dinner party.
Sarah
Dear Sarah: I’ve held on to your question until local strawberries were in season. They are now, and after eating a few baskets of them last week I can confirm they’re ripe, juicy and flavourful.
Beyond eating them on their own, you can incorporate strawberries into many desserts. And across North America, strawberry shortcake has long been a popular option.
The “short” in shortcake is a reference to the more generous amount of fat, such as butter, used in the baked good that centres this dessert. “To shorten” is a centuries-old term that means “easily crumbled,” a clear indication to how tender the shortcake will be thanks to that added fat.
Strawberry shortcake sometimes comes in the form of a cake that’s split, filled with prepared strawberries and whipped cream, and then sliced into portions. A sweetened, rich biscuit is also often used as the base for single portions of strawberry shortcake, and that’s the approach I’ve used in today’s recipe.
To ensure the biscuits were tender, moist and inviting, I incorporated into the dough, as well asthe butter, tangy buttermilk, dense sour cream and aromatic vanilla extract.
You can bake the biscuits in the morning, cover and keep at room temperature until ready to fill.
Making that filling is easy because the only real chores are whipping cream and slicing strawberries. Both are sweetened with a little icing sugar.
If desired, you could also flavour the strawberries with a splash — a tablespoon or so — of orange liqueur or other suitable liqueur.
My recipe yields eight shortcakes — enough to feed a table full of guests. If you’re feeding fewer than that, simply freeze the unused shortcakes for another time. You could also reduce the amount of whipped cream and strawberries you make accordingly.
Or you could just make the whole darn recipe and enjoy another serving of strawberry shortcake the next day.
Local strawberries can be found at farmers markets and some grocery stores. To find a list of operations selling them right from the farm, go to the Southern Vancouver Island Direct Farm Marketing Association website, islandfarmfresh.com.
Local Strawberry Shortcake
Ripe and juicy local berries and cream sandwiched in rich biscuits equals yummy!
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes
Makes: 8 servings
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for kneading and shaping
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into tiny cubes
2 pints local strawberries
1 (500 mL) container whipping cream
4 Tbsp icing sugar (divided), plus some for dusting
• mint and/or lavender sprigs for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Crack the egg into a medium bowl and beat until the white and yolk are well blended. Now beat in the buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla.
Place the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a second bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, and whisk to combine. With a pastry cutter or your fingers tips, or with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it’s thoroughly blended in.
Mix the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients just until a moist dough forms. (The dough will be sticky, but will become the perfect texture once you knead in more flour on the work surface.)
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. With floured hands, gently knead the dough into a ball. Press the dough into a one-inch thick disc. Cut the dough into rounds with a floured three-inch biscuit cutter and set them on the baking sheet, spacing each about three inches apart. Knead and press the trimmings of dough back together and cut it into rounds as well. You should get eight rounds.
Bake the rounds of dough in the middle of the oven for 18 minutes, or until puffed and light golden. Cool the shortcakes to room temperature.
When ready to serve, hull and slice the strawberries and place in a bowl. Sweeten the strawberries with 2 Tbsp of the icing sugar, or to taste. (If you want to use a fruit liqueur, such as Cointreau, this is the time to add it). Now let strawberries macerate with the sugar 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Sweeten with the cream with the remaining 2 Tbsp of icing sugar and then beat until stiff peaks form.
To serve, cut the shortcakes in half horizontally and set the bottom halves on dessert plates. Divide and top each bottom half with whipped cream, and then strawberries. Set on the top halves of the shortcake. Dust each shortcake with a little icing sugar. Now garnish each shortcake with a sprig of mint and/or a few lavender sprigs, and enjoy.
Eric Akis is the author of the hardcover book Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday. [email protected]
