Boston’s Strawberry Dessert Festival may be over, but strawberry season is still in full force. So, when my sister asked me to bring a dessert to her house last weekend and my mom suggested strawberry shortcake, I knew it would be perfect. We were heading down the night before so I wanted to make something that would either stay nice or that I could easily assemble there. So, I made the biscuits for the dessert ahead of time and did the rest there. Of course we picked up some super fresh farm-stand strawberries while we were in Rhode Island doing some wine tastings for the day.
- 1 3/4 lbs (6 C) strawberries, cleaned, hulled, and chopped into quarters
- 1 1/4 C plus 2 T sugar
- 3 C all-purpose flour
- 4 t baking powder
- 3/4 t salt
- 12 T butter, unsalted and cold, cut into small pieces
- 2 C heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2 T vanilla extract
Put them in a medium bowl and toss with 3/4 C of sugar. You’ll want to let them sit while you finish the dessert so all the juices come out. If your kitchen is warm, you can put them in the fridge for a bit.
Now start on the biscuits. Put the flour, baking powder, 1/2 C sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. This dough was reason # 8493 I need a larger food processor. I had to do mine in 2 batches!
Now add the pieces of butter in and pulse about 10-12 times until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter mixed in. In a bowl, whisk together 1/2 C cream with the 2 eggs and 1 T vanilla. Pour this over the flour mixture and pulse until large clumps begin to appear, about 25-30 times.
Gently pack the dough into a 1/2 C measuring cup, invert and tap onto a baking sheet. The dough should make 8 biscuits.
Bake the biscuits at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until they’re lightly golden. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes.
Now, make the whipped cream. If you’ve never whipped your own cream, you have to! It’s SO much better than whipped cream from the can. I know it’s crazy, but I really don’t like whipped cream (it’s pretty much the only food I won’t eat), but I don’t mind it as much at all if it’s homemade. And you don’t even need a hand mixer! My sister and her fiance didn’t have one since they’re in their house temporarily and I forgot mine, so we did it by hand with a whisk. Actually, my mom did it. It takes a bit of time, but it’s so worth it.
Just put the remaining 1 1/2 C of cream in a big bowl and beat like crazy with a whisk.
Once soft peaks form, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the tablespoon of vanilla and beat a bit more.
Now, cut the biscuits in half horizontally.
Do this very gently with a serrated knife, so the biscuit doesn’t crumble.
Spoon the strawberries and some of their liquid over the biscuit.
And then add some whipped cream.
Seriously the perfect summer dessert.
The strawberry shortcake was such a nice ending to a wonderful seafood dinner. It’s perfect for a warm night when you want desert, but can’t handle anything heavy. I could probably eat this all year round, winter included.
[Sues]
