Strawberry Shortcake!

It’s strawberry season in southwestern PA, and after just plucking them out of the quart and eating them raw, shortcake is one of my favorite treatments of this fruit.

I made the shortcake according to a standard biscuit recipe (3 cups flour, 3/4 tsp salt, 1.5 tablespoons baking powder, a stick of butter, and a cup plus two tablespoons milk/cream mixed together) with a few alterations: I added the zest of an orange, a square half inch of grated dark chocolate, a teaspoon or so of sugar, shake of cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves into the dry ingredients.

I rolled the biscuit dough out, trimmed the edges, then sliced it down into twelve large biscuits. The scraps from trimming the edges were enough to shape into two more biscuits. After I transferred the biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet, brushed their tops with cream to help the browning process, and sprinkled them with coarse turbinado sugar for decoration and a bit of sweetness, I baked them in a 450F oven for 15 minutes.

Once the biscuits had cooled slightly, I split them and spooned several strawberries onto the bottom half, followed by a small dollop of whipped cream.  This extra bit of cream helps out with the crucial cream: biscuit ration on the final few bites, and it also helps keep the top in place for presentation (instead of having it slide off to the side).  I spooned more berries around the edges and topped the biscuit with a full dollop of cream and a strawberry on top.

The results? Tasty.

4 Responses to “Strawberry Shortcake!”

  1. courtney Says:

    This looks so good. Sadly strawberry season is over in Fl, but I did get alot in.

    I have an odd random question for you. My dad was from Pittsburgh, and he always wanted his steak “Pittsburghed” (meaning it was pink/red in the center but blackened on the outside). Is this a real thing, or is it just something my dad made up? I never thought to ask while he was alive, but my husband and I were talking about him the other night which made me think of this.

    Thanks.

  2. Angel Says:

    We had shortcake on Wednesday and it was delicious. I use a slightly sweetened buttermilk biscuit recipe. The hint of tang of the buttermilk goes so nicely with the sweet berries.

    Confession: I also had shortcake for breakfast on Thursday. I used yogurt instead of cream, though. I can’t summon the energy to whip cream at that hour of the day. Yogurt, biscuit, and berries - that’s nutrition, right?

  3. jwsharrard Says:

    Sounds like a perfectly valid breakfast to me.

  4. Opa Says:

    I like it, looks great! I tried to make some before but it didn’t turn out right. I think I’m going to try to make it again with your recipe, thanks a lot.

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