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Strawberry Shortcake from Scratch

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | June 1, 2019 9 Comments

Last updated on June 30th, 2019

strawberry shortcakeOh, the things we can do with June strawberries.  We can eat them as-is. We can roast them in the oven. We can bake them into this feather-light souffle, or glaze them for this chic French tart. We can even turn them — gasp! — into Strawberry Shortcake. Speaking of which,  here’s a rather unusual recipe for this ubiquitous dessert of berries, biscuits and whipped cream:

The following recipe was developed by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, and was published in The New York Times. You’ll find a link to the original recipe at the end of this post. The dessert contains ungodly amounts of cream, butter, and flour. That’s why I made it for you.

hull, rinse, and drain 2 pints of strawberriesFirst, rinse and hull 2 pints of fresh, in-season strawberries.

cut small berries in half; slice larger berriesCut small berries in half, and slice the larger subjects.

mash a quarter of the berriesThen tip a quarter of the berries into a medium bowl, and gently mash them with a fork. As you can see, my fork is shaped exactly like a potato-mashing gadget.

add sugarNow stir in the remaining berries plus 1/2 cup of sugar…

stir the berry mixture, and allow to macerate for at least 30 minutesAnd let the berries macerate (exude their juices) for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F.

butter the baking sheetAlso, butter a heavy baking sheet. The butter will give the biscuits a crisp underside.

put 4 cups of flour in a large bowlOnto the short cakes! Drop 4 cups of flour into a large bowl.

add 3 tablespoons of sugarAdd 3 tablespoons sugar…

add 1/4 teaspoon of salt1/4 teaspoon salt…

add 5 teaspoons of (fresh) baking powderAnd 5 (yes, five!) teaspoons of baking powder.

whisk the dry ingredients to combineThoroughly whisk the flour mixture to combine.  (Actually, Nancy Jenkins says to SIFT all of these dry ingredients into a large bowl. I hope she can forgive my wily ways.)

add 12 tablespoons of softened butterTo the flour mixture, add 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) of softened butter.

I know what you’re thinking.

“But Kevin, you’ve always instructed us to use COLD butter when making pastries.”

True, I always use cold, diced butter for biscuits, scones, and the like. But Nancy uses softened butter. And since this is Nancy’s recipe, we must do as Nancy tell us to do. (Well, except for that whole whisking-instead-sifting incident.)

rubbing flour and butter togetherAnyway, rub the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

add 1 1/4 cups heavy creamThen add 1 1/4 cups heavy cream…

stir until a soft dough formsAnd stir, with an appropriately-colored spoon, until a soft dough develops.

tip the dough onto a lightly-floured board or pastry clothTip the shaggy mass onto a lightly-floured board or pastry cloth.

No picture of this next step because it requires 2 hands: Knead the dough for just one minute.  The dough, I can tell you, will seem very dry.

knead dough for 1 minutes, then roll out to a 1/2-inch-thick circle Roll the dough into an extremely unattractive 1/2-inch thick circle…

cut out rounds of dough with a 3-inch biscuit cutterAnd press out an even number of rounds (2 rounds per serving) with a 3-inch-diameter biscuit cutter.  This recipe, according to Nancy, makes enough for 4 generous servings.

Confession: I do not own a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Consequently my rounds are 2 1/2 inches in diameter. As a result, I ended up with enough rounds for 8 modestly-sized servings. (The leftover biscuits were delicious for breakfast the next morning.)

brush half the rounds with melted butterAnyway, put half of the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, and brush them with melted butter.

put the remaining rounds on top of the buttered roundsPlace the remaining rounds on top of the buttered rounds.

bake until biscuits are lightly brownedBake until golden brown — 10-15 minutes.  (I baked mine for the full 15 minutes.)

remove tops from biscuits and brush insides with melted butterNow pull the shortcakes apart, and brush the insides with melted butter!

add 1/4 tsp vanilla extra to 1 3/4 cups of cream, then beat until thickWhile the shortcakes cool, prepare the whipped cream: Pour 1 3/4 cups heavy cream plus 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract into a bowl, and beat them until they turn thick and rich — 3-5 minutes.

put one biscuit half on a plateTo assemble the dessert, place the bottom half of a biscuit on a plate…

top with a large spoonful of berriesTop with a large spoonful of berries…

top with the other biscuit half Cover with the top half of the biscuit…

put more berries on topAnd add more berries.

Top off with a hefty spoonful of whipped creamFinish with a generous spoonful of whipped cream…

garnish with a small wedge of strawberryAnd a single slice of strawberry.

I’ll admit that Strawberry Shortcake isn’t the lightest dessert in the world. Still, it is a delicious dessert. And it sure looks purdy on a plate!

To get the printable version of this recipe, click here. Again, the recipe was written by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, and published in the New York Times.

Thanks for spending time with me today. As always, I adore your company.

xKevin

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Comments

  1. 1

    shirley welch says

    June 2, 2019 at 9:41 am

    Looks and sounds delicious ~ thanks for sharing will be preparing this coming week.

  2. 2

    Jean says

    June 2, 2019 at 9:44 am

    So tempting! I am mentally counting up the calories. Love ya anyway!

  3. 3

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    June 2, 2019 at 9:58 am

    Hi Shirley – If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you!

    Hi Jean – Calories? What calories?!!!

  4. 4

    Ann Campbell says

    June 2, 2019 at 11:16 am

    Happy birthday to your Dad! I hope he is doing all the things he loves too.
    Last March my Mom turned 92. She loves composing piano music, so for her birthday we put her tunes on CD’s she can share with her friends and family. She is already planning her next CD!
    Cant wait to make your strawberry shortcake recipe ….that will be my main course for dinner!

  5. 5

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    June 2, 2019 at 11:28 am

    Hi Ann – What a lovely gesture for your Mom! And yes, this Strawberry Shortcake is so filling it could very well be a main course!

  6. 6

    Diane Hinkle says

    June 2, 2019 at 11:31 am

    I think your’s should be called a Strawberry Tall Cake. It looks yummy!

  7. 7

    Mary says

    June 2, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    I made this recipe and it is great! I have been making a similar recipe for years.
    We live in Wi. so it is almost strawberry season.

  8. 8

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    June 2, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    Hi Diane – “Strawberry Tall Cakes.” Love the title!

    Hi Mary – Thanks for the review. Music to my ears!

  9. 9

    Molly says

    June 2, 2019 at 6:47 pm

    There can never be too much cream or butter especially when the results look so delicious.
    Happy birthday to your dad!

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