Strawberry Shortcake

Well it's strawberry season here in Oregon and my garden is exploding with hundreds of berries! The frustrating thing thing is that I only get 20-40 per day which makes it hard to serve a large dish with the berries. However, what I can do is strawberry shortcake for two!

Everyone has a different idea on the proper 'shortcake' for this classic dessert. There are those yellow spongecake bowl thingies from the grocery store, pound cake, angel food cake, or the traditional shortcake. Personally I prefer mine made with pound cake but that would have taken to long and I wanted it NOW. So I scoured the Internet for a good shortcake recipe. Success! I found one. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-lemon-shortcake/detail.aspx

As usual, I changed the recipe up to make it my own and I truly believe that had I followed the recipe exactly then I would probably not have enjoyed it as much. The really nice thing about this recipe however is that the portion is for 2 people which is perfect for me, especially since Matt is low carbing it and I had to eat it all myself. So here it is, my improved version version mentioned previously. This recipe is the best true shortcake that I have fully enjoyed.

Shortcake biscuits

1 cup flour

2 tbs sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbs cold butter

3 tbs buttermilk

1 egg yolk, beaten

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and egg yolk, pour into the crumb mixture, mix until a soft dough forms (I recommend using your hands) Knead until flour is fully incorporated.

Separate the dough into two halves and roll into a ball. Form into a disk approximately 3/4 inch thick. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes.

Sweetened strawberries


1 1/2 cup strawberries, halved
2 tbs sugar

Combine, cover, and let rest for at least 30 minutes to allow juices to 'bleed'  You can add more sugar if you want it sweeter

Whipped cream

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

Combine all ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form.  Whipping cream can be made many different ways, by hand with a whisk, in a stand mixer with whisk attachment or hand blender.  For small batches I make it by hand.  You can always adjust the sugar and vanilla to your liking.  I like extra vanilla in mine.

To serve and assemble, cut the shortcakes in half, spread a small amount of lemon butter (mix lemon zest with softened butter) on both sides of the shortcake (by adding a thin layer of butter you help prevent the shortcake from getting soggy).  Pile a bunch of berries on the shortcake, add a healthy dollop of whipped cream, replace the top piece of the shortcake and add another dollop of whipped cream.  Garnish with a whole berry and a sprig of mint.

Taddaa!