Strawberry Shortcake

This strawberry shortcake is the perfect summertime dessert. Full of sweet strawberries, homemade biscuits and topped with whipped cream. 

Mmmm strawberries. I couldn’t resist picking up a big package when I saw these beauties on sale. Seriously I bought five pounds for only $2.99.  I thought that seemed pretty reasonable. To be honest they were good too. Not the sweetest strawberries I have ever had but still tasty.  I ate a few pounds and then decided I would make shortcake with the rest. Now here is the thing.  Growing up we ate shortcake all the time. It was a summer staple.

BUT my idea of shortcake is a bit different than real shortcake. My mom would usually buy the little flat sponge cake rounds, macerate some strawberries in sugar and then mix them with strawberry flavored filling….pour on top of the little rounds and tada you have strawberry shortcake.  Don’t get me wrong I love this dessert, it reminds me of my childhood, but  I wanted to try something a little more traditional. I searched epicurious and settled on a recipe that had good ratings and reviews. The little biscuits were easy to make and turned out tasty. Mr. Nutmeg Nanny and I both thought they were a little dense compared to what we were used to (me sponge cake, him bisquick) but still delicious. They were flaky and tender. A perfect little pastry to top with sweetened strawberries and fresh whipped cream…yum!

I say if you have five pounds of strawberries sitting in your fridge you should give this a try. It’s delicious and makes for some pretty pictures too. Enjoy!!!

Strawberry Shortcakes

This strawberry shortcake is the perfect summertime dessert. Full of sweet strawberries, homemade biscuits and topped with whipped cream.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes plus strawberry maceration time

Ingredients:

For strawberries:

• 4 pints strawberries - lightly rinsed, hulled and halved
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 shortcakes (see recipe below), for serving
• 6 whole strawberries, for garnish
  
  For shortcakes:
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Source: Epicurious

Directions:

For the shortcakes:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, rub it into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the milk until a very soft dough is formed. Do not overwork.

Drop the dough in 6 equal portions onto the prepared baking sheet. Lightly pat the dough into rounds—3 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter—and lightly brush the tops with the cream. Bake the shortcakes in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

For the Strawberries:
Place strawberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sugar, then gently toss with a rubber spatula. Let rest for 1 1/2 to 2 hours for juices to develop. Just before serving, whip cream with 1 Tbsp sugar until it holds soft peaks.

To serve, slice off the top third of each shortcake. Place the bottoms on 6 dessert plates and top with 1/3 cup of the prepared berries and juice, plus a spoonful of whipped cream. Cover with the top. Spoon over more berries and juice, then dollop with whipped cream. Garnish each with a whole berry and drizzle with any remaining juice.