Real Deal Strawberry Shortcake |
|
 |
Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 12 Minutes |
Ready In: 12 Minutes Servings: 8 |
|
The strawberries were so delicious at the store this past weekend, and I had a craving for strawberries over real shortcake, rather than the pre-packaged little sponge cakes that are sold next to the berries. I went home and started looking through my recipes, and came up with a mixture of a couple that sounded about right. Read more . The shortcakes turned out light, buttery, and just sweet enough to soak up the strawberry juices and fresh fruit perfectly. Now I won’t want to ever used the pre-packaged cakes again! Ingredients:
shortcakes |
2 cups flour |
4 tablespoons sugar |
1 heaping tablespoon baking powder |
1/2 teaspoon salt |
1/4 cup solid shortening, such as crisco |
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces |
1 large egg, lightly beaten |
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (half-and-half will work, too) |
crystallized sugar, for topping shortcakes |
for assembling |
2 quarts strawberries |
1/4 or more sugar, to sweeten berries to your taste |
whipped cream or ice cream, for topping dessert |
Directions:
1. Before making the shortcakes, prepare the strawberries by cleaning, removing stems and slicing them.
2. Place them in a bowl and cover with sugar; stir to coat the berries completely.
3. As mixture sits, it will produce juice that you will use on top of the cut shortcakes at serving.
4. Taste strawberries and add more sugar if they are not sweet enough.
5. For the shortcakes, mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
6. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut in the cold butter and solid shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
7. Make a well in the center of the dough; add beaten egg and heavy whipping cream, mixing just until ingredients are moistened.
8. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead about 5 or 6 times, until ingredients are well mixed. Handle dough as little as possible for the lightest shortcakes!
9. Pat dough into a circle about 11/2” high, and use a 2” biscuit cutter to cut into about 8 shortcakes (depending on how big a circle you pat the dough into).
10. Place shortcakes on a lightly greased baking sheet and sprinkle tops with crystalized sugar.
11. Bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned on tops and bottoms.
12. To serve, cut each shortcake in half horizontally and place on plate – drizzle some of the juice from the cut strawberries over the cut surfaces, and then top with sliced strawberries. Top with whipped cream or ice cream and serve immediately.
13. I like to serve the shortcakes while still a bit warm, but they can be served at room temperature, too.
|
|