Southern Strawberry Shortcakes
Springtime in the Hamptons always means delicious local strawberries and one of my favorite seasonal desserts is the traditional Southern shortcake made with a lightly sweetened biscuit. I must admit, growing up a strawberry shortcake in our house was always made with a sponge cake as opposed to a biscuit. I prefer a biscuit now and find this makes a much better dessert that you can whip together in under an hour. If strawberries are not in season try a different berry or at the end of summer, fresh peaches are heavenly in this dessert. If you’re lucky enough to live in the South, use White Lily flour (non self-rising) for an even better biscuit.
Southern Strawberry Shortcakes
Makes 10-12 biscuits
For the biscuits
2 Cups/240g all-purpose flour
2 Cups/240g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons/30g of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon/15g of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
Grated zest of one orange (optional)
Grated zest of one orange (optional)
2 oz./ 56g very cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
3/4 Cup/170g buttermilk ( or regular milk)
For the filling
For the filling
2 cups/480ml heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of powdered sugar plus additional for dusting the top of the shortcakes
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 pound/500g of ripe strawberries
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
Mint leaves for garnish
Preheat the oven to 450°F/235°C
In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the dry ingredients for the biscuits and pulse a few times to combine well. Add the butter and pulse maybe 10 times or until the butter and flour have blended and there are only small pea sized pieces of butter visible. Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl and add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times. Do not overwork or your biscuits will be tough and hard.
Gently roll or pat out the dough to about a 1/2 inch/1cm thickness and using a 2-inch/5cm biscuit cutter or glass cut out as many biscuits as possible then gather the scraps and pat together and continue to cut out more biscuits until the dough is gone.
Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and let rest for 5 minutes then place into the preheated oven and bake approximately 10-12 minutes or until nicely risen and lightly browned on top.
Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.
To assemble the shortcakes; chill a large bowl and the beaters from a mixer in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pour the heavy cream and the powdered sugar into the chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form then add the vanilla and whip until just firm peaks form. Set aside in the refrigerator. Wash, hull and slice the strawberries and add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and stir to combine. Let the strawberries macerate for 10 minutes.
Slice each cooled biscuit in half horizontally and place the bottoms on a plate. Spoon some if the strawberries onto the biscuits, then top with a generous spoonful of the reserved whipped cream. Place the top of the biscuits on top of the cream and sprinkle each one with powdered sugar to taste. Garnish with a few mint leaves and serve immediately.
3 tablespoons of powdered sugar plus additional for dusting the top of the shortcakes
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 pound/500g of ripe strawberries
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
Mint leaves for garnish
Preheat the oven to 450°F/235°C
In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the dry ingredients for the biscuits and pulse a few times to combine well. Add the butter and pulse maybe 10 times or until the butter and flour have blended and there are only small pea sized pieces of butter visible. Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl and add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times. Do not overwork or your biscuits will be tough and hard.
Gently roll or pat out the dough to about a 1/2 inch/1cm thickness and using a 2-inch/5cm biscuit cutter or glass cut out as many biscuits as possible then gather the scraps and pat together and continue to cut out more biscuits until the dough is gone.
Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and let rest for 5 minutes then place into the preheated oven and bake approximately 10-12 minutes or until nicely risen and lightly browned on top.
Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.
To assemble the shortcakes; chill a large bowl and the beaters from a mixer in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pour the heavy cream and the powdered sugar into the chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form then add the vanilla and whip until just firm peaks form. Set aside in the refrigerator. Wash, hull and slice the strawberries and add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and stir to combine. Let the strawberries macerate for 10 minutes.
Slice each cooled biscuit in half horizontally and place the bottoms on a plate. Spoon some if the strawberries onto the biscuits, then top with a generous spoonful of the reserved whipped cream. Place the top of the biscuits on top of the cream and sprinkle each one with powdered sugar to taste. Garnish with a few mint leaves and serve immediately.
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