Strawberry Shortcake

I am, as always, in love with this time of year. The days are warm but not hot, the long hours of light makes the days seem endless, and I love the thought of having the entire summer before me.

I have no interest in traveling to the beach or anywhere else for Memorial Day weekend. I can't imagine enjoying anywhere else as much as I enjoy being home and taking walks in the neighborhood, puttering around in the kitchen, working on my community garden plot, and -- one of the best things about a long weekend --- spending part of every afternoon reading and napping.

At this time of year the windows in our house are always open. In the bedroom, which is on the third floor of our house, the curtains float on the breeze, and I'm able to see the leaves of the trees outside the window fluttering in the breeze. Above the curtains the sky has been a picture book blue and dotted with big, fluffy clouds. I can hear the birds in the trees and farther away the noises of the city. It's the perfect place to spend an afternoon of reading and napping. 

Another of the things that makes this such a perfect time of year is strawberries.

Of course sometimes, and probably more often than not, strawberries disappoint me. It's rare to find a truly sweet and flavorful berry, and wonderful strawberry fragrance does not seem to be an accurate indicator of strawberry taste. There are times the strawberries I buy smell heavenly but turn out to be woody or cottony, or they are simpy without flavor. I try always to pick out baskets of berries that are small and brilliantly red because I think these two things are the best indicator of good flavor, but at my farmers' market, as in most places, often they're a mix of large and small, deep red and not so red strawberries. 

None of this ever keeps me from buying strawberries.I am eternally optimistic.

This year, after some problems with the very first berries of the season having poor texture (the result of the enormous amount of rain we've had recently), I've had pretty good berries. Not spectacular, but good none the less.

Strawberry shortcake is a good way to enjoy strawberries. Strawberries are at their best uncooked, and if strawberry shortcake is eaten when the biscuits are still hot from the oven (the best way, by the way) you have the hot biscuit and a nice combination of the hot and almost savory-salty biscuit with the berries and the whipped cream.

This shortcake recipe comes from Cooks' Illustrated.

Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcakes
2     cups all-purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon  table salt   
1     tablespoon  baking powder   
3     tablespoons  granulated sugar   
2     tablespoons  granulated sugar for sprinkling 
1     stick  unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), cut in half the long way and then each 
1     egg , beaten 
1/2  cup  half-and-half   
1     tablespoon  half-and-half   
1     egg white, lightly beaten 

2 boxes of berries

1 cup whipping cream or heavy cream, whipped with one tablespoon of sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

1. Preheat the oven to 425

2. Cut the butter in half and then half again the long way. Cut the 4 butter quarters in 1/2 inch slices. Put these on a plate, cover with plastic, and put this in the freezer while you're assembling everything else.

3. Hull the strawberries, that is, remove the stem and leaves and tiny core from the top of the berries. Cut the berries in half or in quarters, depending on the size of the berries. Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of sugar and let them stand while you make the biscuits.

4. Put the flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons of sugar in the food processor and pulse a few times to blend. Distribute the butter over the top of the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles "coarse meal."  The CI people say this will be about 15 1-second pulses but I can't corroborate because I lost count during this process.

5. Dump this into a mixing bowl, mix the lightly beaten egg with the half-and-half, then gently stir it into the flour mixture until clumps form. Flour a work surface, then gently knead the dough until it just comes together. Pat the dough into a rectangle 9 inches by 6 inches that's about 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut out six rounds of dough with a 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter and place them on a cookie sheet. Brush the tops with the lightly beaten egg white and then sprinkle the tops with one to two tablespoons of sugar.

6. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Cool on a rack for ten minutes. Then split each biscuit in half crosswise. Place a large spoonful or two of berries and the juice they've exuded on top of the bottom biscuit. Be generous with the berries Top with a large dollop of whipped cream. Perch the biscuit top at a rakish angle on top of the whipped cream. Serve with additional whipped cream on the side.

Comments

[Kitt]

Yum! I agree, strawberries are so often disappointing, but so wonderful when they're not. Sometimes I can salvage so-so ones by hulling and slicing them, then making a sauce by pureeing a few with caster sugar. Adding just a little sugar and juiciness to the slices makes them taste much better.

[the bee]

I will be right over. This looks amazing. Not amazing enough to go to Butler's but close. I heart people who pick my fruit.
I am waaaaaay to lazy to do it.

[the bee]

Obviously, I was waaaay too tired to spell too in the above msg.

[Kim]

I am lucky enough to live in an area where we have quite a few strawberry farmers near by. It makes a difference. It looks good, glad you are back.

[ann]

It has just become apparent to me that the fact that I haven't bought any strawberries yet this year is a travesty. I should have my foodie stripes revoked ;-)
But I did have strawberry refrigerator pie at dinner on Saturday night, and it was spectacular, so maybe things are okay.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend Julie! It sounds like you had a good plan for it.

[claudia (cook eat FRET)]

that photo is magical, perfect, beautiful, wonderous - it's a total wow.

the good strawberry shortcake's are the best, but so-so strawberry shortcake is so very sadly disappointing. and i'm not very good at the shortcake making part...

[Adele]

Oh, this looks delightful. Although I have trouble getting to the baked good point with fresh berries... they usually go straight from the container to my stomach. :)

[pigtown*design]

Gorgeous photo and words, as always. I split my berries with Mom!

m

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

When we moved to our current house, we discovered that we have lots and lots of wild strawberries! We try to harvest before the rabbits get to them.

[Lore]

Julie I coudn't believe the coincidence as I read your post! I'm just writing a draft of my next post and it begins like this: "How do you like your strawberries? Uncooked thank you very much!" :) Needless to say your shortcake is right up my alley! You should submit this to Nutriferia's Berrylicious roundup.
I think the best strawberries I had were from my orchard back home. And the thing is they just grew between trees and didn't even require extra care.
We are very much alike :) as I too enjoy spending the little free time I get just like you, that's the only way for me to recharge my batteries.

[Patricia Scarpin]

Julie, strawberry shortcake is not part of our food culture, so I have never tried it. I definitely should - yours looks delish!
I love anything strawberry.
Your text made me picture myself in a beautiful day like that.

[aria]

here here to staying home for memorial day weekend and relaxing! i did the same thing and it was heaven ;)

mnnn, i need to get some fresh berries this looks delicious, beautiful presentation!!

[Susan from Food Blogga]

Is there another dessert that evokes such feelings of nostalgia as strawberry shortcake? Yours looks just lovely, Julie.

[Anne]

I'm with you on staying home instead of jetting off to the beach. I also love how my city empties out on weekends. Why would anyone leave?

Your strawberry shortcake looks and sounds delicious.

[Julie]

Beautiful shortcake, Julie. My mouth is watering just looking at it. I got some Jersey berries last weekend, but the ones I love best, Tri-stars from upstate NY, won't be ready till mid-June at the earliest...sigh...

[katie]

Exactly the wat Strawberry Shortcake should be - with baking pwder biscuits! I love it and haven't had it in years.
Mon mari thinks it should be Angel Food - stupid man!

[nicola]

beautiful shot - i'm craving strawberries - too early here...but strawberries and cream? desert island must-haves...no doubt about it. looks fantastic. good job.

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

Yes! Nothing makes me happier this time of year than strawberries and shortcake! Only a few of the farmers have them so far (and on Saturday there was a line of maybe 50 people waiting to buy some) but they are so juicy and sweet this year.

[Meg]

There are NO windows open out here in Seattle. We are, in fact, still running the heat. I was talking with a friend about whether it's possible to get seasonal affective disorder in June. However, despite the March masquerading as June, one thing that almost always remains wonderful: strawberries (although yours look pretty delicious, that amazing, perfect ruby all the way through). Your shortcake looks awesome. I can't wait to have shortcake for dinner, but I think, given our weather, we have a few weeks to go until the really good berries start to come in.

[journeyoflife7]

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[Haley]

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Haley

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