Happy Summer Everyone!
Yesterday was summer solstice, and I wanted to do something special, something that says summer. In the afternoon my boss left to run some errands, when she came back she told me that on one of her stops someone was selling strawberry shortcake. Good strawberry shortcake. Then she proceeded to tell me that she makes pretty good strawberry shortcake, but that the kind she just had was nearly better than hers. . . this got me thinking. I've never made strawberry shortcake! I enjoy it for the most part. . . the only thing I find about strawberry shortcake when I buy it at festivals and street fairs, is that the biscuit is always like a buttermilk biscuit you'd serve alongside friend chicken, or some blander version thereof you might top with sausage and gravy.
I am a firm believer in sweets. And my stance on strawberry shortcake is that the base should be a sweet, almost scone like biscuit, not a dry bland biscuit. I know there is great debate out there on the perfect biscuit pairing for this dessert. I know a lot of people prefer a blander biscuit, and a sweeter strawberry mixture or whip cream. I prefer it the opposite way around, and ladies and gents, I've found my dream recipe. I've never tasted a strawberry shortcake as delicious as this in my life. It is the holy grail of strawberry shortcake. Asher, Thomas, and Lauren could not agree more.
Lauren proclaimed, that no joke, this was the best dessert she'd ever had her entire life. Best she ever tasted. This coming from a girl who 3 minutes before was speaking of a dessert in New Mexico that is comprised of sweet bread balls, topped with and frying in a sugar butter mixture. She knows good home cooked food. And I take her compliments to be some of the greatest I've ever received. I also place them in very high regard. Asher is no fool when it comes to food either. I have a good panel of judges here at my house, and in general I get rave reviews. But I think this dessert knocked their socks off, almost quite literally!
Please try. And enjoy. If you're anything like us, you will find this recipe knock your socks off-tastic! I pair the sweet biscuit with a less sweet honey whip cream, and lightly vanilla sugared strawberries.
I will be making this again very soon. It's really, really simple. And is quite possibly, the greatest dessert ever, especially for a warm summer day!
Recipe: Mallorys Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients:
For biscuit:
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cups sugar sifted with flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 5 TBL butter
- 2/3 cup of heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla
For Strawberries:
- 1 16 oz box of strawberries sliced
- 4 TBL vanilla sugar
For Whipped Cream:
- 1 8oz. container of quality whippping cream (we buy a glass bottle full directly from a farm in Lynden, it's amazing)
- 2 TBL honey ( or more or less, depending on your taste preference)
Directions:
For Biscuits:
1. Sift all dry ingredients together into mixer.
2. Add 5 cut up TBL cold butter to flour mixture, with paddle attachement beat until mixture is pebbly.
3. Add vanilla to whip cream and slowly pour into mixer on low-medium speed. Dough will not come together completely but will get wet. Stop mixer and hand knead lightly until dough can be formed into individual biscuits.
4. Free form, hand shape your biscuits (I made mine heart shaped).
5. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake in 425 degree oven for 10-15 mintues. (It will take longer the larger the biscuits get).
While the biscuits are cooking:
Whipped Cream:
1. Place jar of cream into mixer with whisk attachement, beat on high speed until almost light and fluffy.
2. Add honey and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Transfer to nice glass bowl for serving.
Strawberries:
1. Place sliced strawberries in glass bowl for serving.
2. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and allow them to sit until biscuits are done.
Assembly:
1. Cut warm biscuit in half.
2. Place a large spoonful or two of strawberries on the inside. Followed by a large dollop of two of the whip cream.
3. Place top of biscuit on that, and ladle another large spoonful of strawberries atop that to finish things off.
4. Enjoy!
Serves 4-6 depending on biscuit size. Mine were large, so it served the four of us.
Enjoy this dessert. It's a real treat.
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