Beginning in the month of May (and continuing on into the early part of summer), my family eagerly looks forward to the simple pleasure of strawberry shortcakes. This dish features three components: 1) juicy, in-season, ruby-red berries, 2) freshly whipped cream, and 3) delicate-but-not-too-sweet biscuits. This is a perfect dish to make for dessert or to take to a Memorial Day or 4th of July pitch-in and is guaranteed to disappear quickly!
For the shortcakes, I tweak my biscuit recipe to include a bit more sugar (both in and on top) and add citrus (zest and juice) for a brightness that compliments the strawberries well.
For 12 servings, I would plan on 2 quarts of strawberries. I prep the berries (as described below) before the biscuits so they have time to rest before serving.
Shortcake Recipe
Yield: 12 biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 c flour (I like to use 2 c all-purpose flour and 1 c + 2 TBSP Cake Flour)
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/2 c cold butter (1 stick), grated
- heaping 1/8 c baking powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- Zest and juice of 1 orange (or lemon, depending on your preference)
- approximately 1 c cold milk (I use whole milk)
- 1 TBSP melted butter
- ~ 1 TBSP of sugar (granulated or turbinado) for sprinkling
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and orange zest.
- Cut in the grated butter using a fork until it resembles sand with small pebbles in it. Squeeze the juice of the orange into a liquid measuring cup and to it add the milk until the total liquid (juice + milk) is 1 cup. Gradually pour the liquid into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until the dough holds together. If needed, add a small splash of milk so that all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- On a lightly-floured surface, gently knead the dough a few times and roll out to 1" thickness. Cut into desired size with a biscuit or round cookie cutter (I use a round cutter that is about 2.5 inches in diameter).
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and arrange the biscuits so they are close together but not touching. Brush the tops of each biscuit with the melted butter and add a sprinkle of sugar on top of each.
- Bake in a 425F pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown.
- Assemble according to personal preference: I like to place 1 biscuit in a bowl and then top with a generous serving of whipped cream and sliced strawberries. You could also slice the biscuit in half and layer whipped cream and berries in between the two pieces.
Whipped Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 quart of heavy whipping cream
- 6 TBSP powdered sugar
- 2.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add all 3 ingredients and blend with the whisk attachment, beginning at a low speed (for about 30 seconds) and then increase the speed to medium-high.
- Continue until stiff peaks are formed (around 4 minutes or so).
To prep the berries:
After washing and slicing the berries, I typically add about 1 TBSP of granulated sugar to the berries (mixing it in lightly with a rubber spatula) and allow them to rest while the biscuits are baking.