Strawberry Shortcake

May 26

May 26 Strawberry Shortcake

This week started off with the Memorial Day holiday which signals the start of summer here in the U.S. and it’s also “retro dessert" week in my bakeoff group, so I chose a classic Strawberry Shortcake to celebrate both. Nothing says summer time to me like a pile of juicy strawberries and whipped cream. While some regions make Strawberry Shortcake with a sponge cake, I’m originally an east coaster – grew up first in Massachusetts then Maryland – so I go for the buttery biscuit variation.

After a lot of recipe research, I circled back to this King Arthur Flour recipe. One of my go-to resources for the classics. The shortcake is based on a breakfast biscuit so it was promised to be sturdy enough to stand up to the juices of the strawberries and whipped cream without becoming mushy. I also liked the idea of a buttermilk biscuit for richness in flavor, plus the recipe had so many great reviews it seemed worth giving a shot. It was, and more! The biscuits are incredibly tender and buttery with a crisp “shell" from a light sprinkle of sugar. I topped mine with lemon whipped cream (recipe below) to enhance the berries. It would also be amazing with the basil infused whipped cream that I made for my Strawberry Tarts.

A simpler but no less beautiful presentation option. (Photo by Daniel Marks)

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe:

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/strawberry-shortcake-recipe

Yield:
9 shortcakes

Difficulty:
Easy

A few tips:

Making shortcakes is similar to making scones in that the dough should be handled lightly when kneading and cutting, so they don’t become tough from too much gluten development.

Combining the scraps from cutting out your shortcakes will give you more, obviously, but again, they may end up tough if you work the dough too much. Try very gently patting the dough back together. They may not have the prettiest tops but they’ll taste better, and you can cover them in whipped cream!

These golden shortcakes are even delicious on their own for breakfast or afternoon tea. (Photo by Daniel Marks)

I like these shortcakes to be a touch sweet since they’re meant for dessert, so I added 2 extra tablespoons of sugar to the dough and it was just right. Still very lightly sweetened. Perfect.

A sprinkling of granulated sugar on the top before baking will yield crunchy tops. If you want to see the sugar you’ll need to use a courser sugar like Turbinado (sugar in the raw), Demerara, or sparkling sugar.