Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream
This old fashioned Strawberry Shortcake is soft, tender and biscuit-like. The shortcake is double baked with some of the macerated strawberries then piled high with the reserved strawberries, their sauce and lemon whipped cream!
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter, working it thoroughly into the flour mixture with hands by rubbing it between your fingers or using a pastry blender. The butter should be no longer visible and should look like wet sand.
Using a fork, lightly mix in the milk – just enough to make a soft dough. Start with 1/4 cup and then add more as you go. The dough should not be crumbly but it shouldn't be sticky either. You want to add milk just to the point where it all holds together when lifted. Just like with pie crust, you want to do this step as quickly as possible to ensure a light, flavorful shortcake.
Divide dough in half and pat each portion on the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan. The dough is cohesive enough that you can press it into two square pans or rimmed baking sheets – whichever you have on hand is fine. The dough will not reach the edges but press it until it is a little fatter than 1/4 inch thick.
Bake in preheated 400°F oven for about 15 minutes or until golden.
Prepare the macerated strawberries:
While the shortcakes bake, wash and hull the berries. Divide the strawberries between two bowls. Crush half of the berries in one bowl and add ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Leave the remaining berries whole and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup sugar. This makes a perfectly sweet strawberry sauce. If you want it less sweet and more healthy, then I think you could safely cut this back to ¼ cup for the full recipe (⅛ cup for each half of strawberries).
Cover the berries and allow to sit at room temperature to release their juices.
Make the lemon whipped cream:
Pour whipping cream into your mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Sift powdered sugar directly over the whipping cream.
Add the lemon zest. You can taste it at this point to see if you would like to add more zest.
Whisk briskly to combine. If whisking in a stand mixer, it is best to whip on medium-low speed. This will give you a dense, rich whipped cream that is akin to having whipped it by hand.
Whisk vigorously until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Continue whisking if you want stiffer peaks or if you want to pipe the whipped cream.
Assemble:
Take shortcakes from the oven and, while still hot, dot surfaces with butter.
Drain crushed berries in a colander (save the juice) and spoon the strained berries on one layer of shortcake. Place the second shortcake on top. Return to oven for about 5 minutes, then pour fresh strawberry juice over the top and serve warm with whipped cream and whole macerated strawberries.
Notes
Presentation - Piping your whipped cream will finish the look, or you can dip a spoon in hot water before spooning out the whipped cream. Flavor Tips - Taste your strawberries prior to use to ensure you’re balancing their ripeness properly with the sugar. I like to use powdered sugar in my whipped cream so the sugar is distributed more evenly. If you would like your whipped cream to be extra lemony, add more lemon zest.Technique - The concept of baking some of the macerated berries in between the baked shortcakes prior to serving is genius. I’m not sure when this tradition fell off, but it made a really delightful strawberry center and the strawberry juice soaked into the shortcakes a bit in the best way. Also, the recipe calls for “dotting” the baked shortcakes before their second bake in the oven. I will be doing this forever and always with any shortcake from now on. Helpful Tools - Pre-chill your whisk and bowl for making the whipped cream. Metal equipment stays chilled longer.Variations - This whipped cream recipe is open to different citrus variations. You could also make these shortcakes with a completely different berry, just be sure to taste along the way to ensure proper balance of sweetness.Storage - Store baked shortcakes in an air-tight container at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer. Homemade whipped cream can be made up to three days ahead. It can be piped or spread on a finished shortcake or stored in an airtight container.Recipe from American Heritage Cookbook.