New Recipe #18: Strawberry shortcake

It’s time to kick off Whip It Up, the challenge to try at least one new recipe each week for two months! My first experiment for the challenge came from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which is just one fabulous cookbook choice up for grabs for the successful Whip It Up participant who wins the raffle.

Anyway! I have always wanted to try to make strawberry shortcake. It’s one of those nostalgic, American dishes that people can’t help but enjoy, and I am always on the quest for non-chocolate desserts. For our little 4th of July celebration at home, JG made a grilled potato salad to go along with enormous New York strip steaks, and the strawberry shortcake was a lovely, light dessert.

Method
Although the process was somewhat lengthy, the recipe instructions were very straight-forward. Since the dessert was just for JG and me, I halved the original recipe, and the only tricky part was estimating half of a beaten egg for the shortcakes, which I made before dinner. I did not have a biscuit cutter, so I used a medium-sized drinking glass, instead. Once the shortcakes came out of the oven after 12 minutes of baking time, I realized that I had forgotten to brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle them with sugar. Oh, well.

The strawberry filling was easy enough, although using a potato masher was a bit violent for my taste. The only thing left was the whipped cream, which was my only new technique of this recipe. I had made biscuits before, though not sweet ones, but the whipped cream was a whole different animal. Its short recipe was rife with pictures showing the dire consequences of overbeating, so I erred on the side of caution. Regardless, watching my half cup of heavy cream transform into a fluffy whipped topping was nothing short of magical, not to mention knowing that it was not infused with preservatives or any such chemicals.

Taste
I carefully assembled the first shortcake for JG, and I was pleased that the biscuit split easily down the center with a fork, like an English muffin. I warily watched him slide his fork into the layers of shortcake, whipped cream, and fruit, and then take that first bite.

“It’s good!”

Phew. I made up my own serving, but with blueberries for a more patriotic feel, and it was light, summery, buttery, and sweet. I hardly missed the forgotten sugar glaze on the shortcake, and the fruit oozed pleasantly into the bottom half of the buiscuit. Americana, here I come.

Repeat appearance
I would definitely make this strawberry shortcake again. The combination of flaky shortcake, sweet fruit, and light cream was exactly what I wanted, and the constituent parts of the recipe were not excessively challenging. Next time, I would try not to forget the sugar glaze on the shortcake, and I might simply chop up the strawberries, rather than using the potato masher, to have a more visually pleasing filling. In the case of a larger party, I would make the shortcakes ahead of time, but I think both the strawberry filling and the whipped cream could be prepared about an hour before serving and kept chilled. However, it is noteworthy that the time spent from making the biscuits, preparing the fruit filling, whipping the cream, and assembling each serving is significant, so I would not undertake the full recipe under any sort of time restraint. That said, the shortcake is delicious. If you have the time and energy, this dessert is worth it.

Strawberry Shortcakes
America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook Revised Edition
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Preparing the fruit first gives it a chance to become truly juicy — just what you want on fresh-made biscuits. The recipe will yield six biscuits and the scraps can be gathered and patted out to yield another biscuit or two; these, though, will not be as tender as the first.

Fruit

• 2 quarts (about 2 pounds) strawberries, hulled
• 6 tablespoons sugar

Crush 3 cups of the strawberries with a potato masher. Slice the remaining 5 cups of beries and stir into the crushed berries along with the sugar. Let sit at room temperature until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are juicy, about 30 minutes.

Shortcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
• 2/3 cup half-and-half
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Pulse together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Blend the half-and-half with the beaten egg and pour into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly until the dough comes together.
4. Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9 by 6-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut out 6 dough rounds using a floured 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter. Reform the remaining dough and cut 2 more rounds. Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoons sugar.
5. Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Let the shortcakes cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.

Whipped Cream (yields about 2 cups)

• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy and the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and continue to whip until doubled in volume and soft peaks form, 1-3 minutes.

To Assemble: Split each biscuit in half, laying the biscuit bottoms on individual plates. Spoon a portion of the fruit over each bottom, then top with a dollop of the whipped cream. Cap with biscuit tops.