A BERRY Delicious Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake
Ok, sorry (not sorry) about the punny title. Summer berries are RIPE and it’s the perfect time to make shortcake for an easy and delicious evening dessert. Last week for date night, my husband and I visited a local farm to pick fresh strawberries. They had some pre-picked flats, but where is the fun in that (it was SO hot though…)!?
We restrained ourselves from filling the whole box, but it was still a lot of berries. We generally keep berries in the fridge to eat as snacks or as a side for lunch. I also love to throw them on cottage cheese. This time we wanted to do something extra special…and it just so happens to be National Strawberry Shortcake Day! It’s easy to substitute shortcake with angel food cake, but I wanted to make a true shortcake that was also gluten free. Compared to cake, traditional shortcake is less sweet and more like a biscuit. Because it is less sweet, it pairs really well with sweet berries and whipped cream.
The recipe for the shortcakes is below and it can be made regular or gluten free. BUT before we get there, what about these fresh strawberries?
I VERY RARELY add sugar or any sweetener to my strawberries. I actually don’t remember ever doing this, but saying never seems like it could be a lie because I’m sure I’ve unknowingly gotten strawberries that are sour. Some folks like to add sugar and water to sweeten them up and to create a “juice” to soften the cake.
Instead, DO THIS! Clean your strawberries and cut the tops off. Place them into a bowl and cut most of them in half with a fork (with a little mashing). Leave the strawberries out so they warm up to room temperature (or stay room temperature if you had them out). Cutting them open and letting them warm up allows the juices to come out and saturate the berries. This sweetens up the less sweet ones and creates the liquid many people like.
On to the shortcake…
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (regular or 1-1 GF)
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- A pinch of salt (optional)
- 4 tablespoons cold butter
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the whipping cream, yogurt, and eggs.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until mixed. A soft dough should form.
- After the dough is formed, you can either: roll the dough into equal sized balls, place them on the baking sheet, and flatten them slightly with the palm of your hand OR you can flatten out the dough on a flour covered surface, cut the cakes using a biscuit cutter, and transfer them to the baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are just cooked. I recommend checking them early so they don’t burn. You can add some butter to the top if you want them to be really golden. Cinnamon is also a good addition.
- Top with strawberries (or other delicious fruits and berries) and ENJOY!
What is your favorite summer berry?
Katie G.
P.S. If you want to top with FRESH whipped cream, combine 1 pint heavy whipping cream, 3 tablespoons white sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and whip with your mixer on high until stiff peaks form.