Strawberry Shortcakes

I think that I say this every year but it really is true. Strawberries are a definite sign of summer. Over Memorial Day Angela and I whipped up this strawberry shortcake. We thought we had perhaps done something wrong because the dough was not coming out correctly, and sure enough...we did. I misread the directions (i.e. didn't really read them before hand) and got a really sticky goey mess. I tried to fix it, which worked for the most part but because of the good, didn't take pictures because I didn't think it would turn out.

Boy was I wrong. They still did despite our mess up...okay, okay, my mess up. Of course, then I was slightly bummed that I didn't take the time to take pictures before they were gobbled up.

 

Soon enough though, Brad's clinic held a potluck and he asked if I could make the shortcakes again. I quickly jumped at the chance because 1) they were oh so tasty the first time and 2) we had an over abundance of strawberries from our garden; two and a half colanders to be exact.

So I went to work on night making the cakes, and then together Brad and I hulled, cut, and crushed the berries. This time, the dough came together much better and everyone at his work enjoyed them. Another "ace" for America's Test Kitchen.

Strawberry Shortcakes
by America's Test Kitchen

Preparing the fruit first gives it a chance to become truly juicy-just what you want on fresh-made biscuits. The recipe will yield six biscuits and the scraps can be gathered and patted out to yield another biscuit or to; these, though, will not be as tender as the first.

Fruit
2 qts strawberries, hulled
6 Tablespoons sugar

Shortcakes 
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
2/3 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

• For the fruit: Crush 3 cups of the strawberries with a potato masher. Slice the remaining 5 cups of berries and stir into the crushed berries along with the sugar. Let sit at room temperature until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are juicy, about 30 minutes.
• For the shortcakes: While the berries macerate, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Pulse together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined.  Scatter the butter pieces over the top and process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.
• Blend the half-and-half with the beaten egg and pour into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly until the dough comes together.
• Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9-by-6-inch rectangle about 1-inch thick. Cut out 6 dough rounds using a floured 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter. Reform the remaining dough and cut 2 more rounds. Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
• Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let the shortcakes cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.
• To assemble, split each biscuit in half, laying the biscuit bottoms on individual plates.  Spoon a portion of the fruit over each bottom, then top with a dollop of the whipped cream. Cap with the biscuit tops.

A Little Taste of Summer aka Strawberry Shortcake

One of my kiddos at work was celebrating a birthday last weekend and requested a strawberry shortcake that he saw in the book Cook-a-doodle-do! It's a cute little story about a relative of the Little Red Hen who is looking to bake a strawberry shortcake. The Rooster has a crowd of animals attempting to help him, including an Iguana, a Turtle, and a Potbelly Pig. The Iguana attempts to cut the butter with scissors while Pig tries to eat everything in site. Throughout the story, there are little explanations of cooking terms for kids, a great book to introduce the art of baking to younger children. At the end of the book, there is a recipe for the Roosters Strawberry Shortcake. I was going to make that specific recipe but then another version caught my eye over at Chocolate Shavings.

The birthday boy requested that his cake be in the shape of a heart and his eyes lit up when he saw his cake! It was pretty warm in the kitchen and dining room at work so we had to put the cake in the freezer to get the whipped cream to set up a bit. This affected the texture of the cake a bit but it was still fabulous! The shortbread was slightly more moist than an average biscuit but still pretty dense but sweet. The kids seemed to really like it as well though I think some were hoping for an actual cake. Either way, I plan on making this recipe again once summer comes around..rich right now I'm wondering if that will ever happen :op


Strawberry Shortcake
adapted by Chocolate Shavings

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 
• With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan. (This part I found a bit tricky because the batter was so thick)

• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

• Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.

• Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. 

 (Have you ever seen a strawberry with two hulls?)

• Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form.

• Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. 
• Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. 
• Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). 
• Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.