Strawberry Shortcake
Updated Nov. 13, 2023
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2pints ripe, well-rinsed strawberries
- ½cup sugar, or more to taste
- 4cups flour
- 3tablespoons sugar
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 5teaspoons baking powder
- 1¼cups butter
- 3cups whipping cream
- ¼teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1681 calories; 115 grams fat; 71 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 33 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 150 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 49 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 673 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pick over and hull strawberries. Cut in half or slice, depending on size. Gently crush about a quarter of the berries with a fork to release their juices. Mix with remaining berries and the ½ cup of sugar, adding more sugar if necessary. Set aside, covered, for about half an hour to develop flavor.
- Step 2
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Step 3
Into a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and baking powder. Add ¾ cup of softened butter, and rub into dry ingredients as for pastry. Add 1¼ cups cream, and mix to a soft dough. Knead the dough for one minute on a lightly floured pastry board, then roll it out to about ½-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut an even number of rounds - 2 rounds per serving.
- Step 4
Use a little of the butter to grease a baking sheet. Place half the rounds on it. Melt remaining butter and brush a little on the rounds; place remaining rounds on top. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Step 5
Remove from the oven, and pull shortcakes apart. Brush the insides with some of the remaining melted butter.
- Step 6
Beat remaining cream until it thickens. Add vanilla. Beat again just until thick.
- Step 7
Place a bottom half of a shortcake on each plate. Top with a generous spoonful of cream and berries. Cover with a top half, add a few more berries, and top with whipped cream. Serve immediately.
- Extra shortcakes may be frozen, but they should be warmed before using. They are also good toasted for breakfast or tea.
Private Notes
Comments
At 450, the bottoms started burning well before the insides of the biscuits were cooked. We lowered to baking temperature to 375, and things turned out well. So I'd suggest adjusting the baking temperature in this recipe.
Such fun to see a recipe I published more than 30 years ago spring back to life again--the beauty of the NYT recipe collection. I see the point some made, that the recipe makes far more than 4 servings but back home in Maine at this time of year when our native berries are at their luscious peak, strawberry shortcake is often served on its own as a substantial supper, what we call in Italy a piatto unico, nothing else. In that case, it's just about right for 4 people, with healthy seconds.
I don't mean to sound like the language police, but "penultimate" means 'next-to-last', implying that some other recipe is yet better. To mean 'the best ever' use "ultimate".
Unbelievably delicious and absolutely worth the effort. A lively table of dinners went silent once they dug into their portion, unable to focus on conversation while they had their first bite. Silent with heads down. I’m a beginner, and it taught me the joy and satisfaction of baking for others when you get it right. Note-it took me a long time to make it in terms of prep, but then again, I’m not quick in the kitchen.
I made this for Christmas Eve and everyone LOVED it. I added a sprig of mint and it had Christmas colors! In any event it was delicious enough no one minded if it felt summery. I followed some of the suggestions from the comments: I baked at 400 for closer to 20 minutes, and I rolled it into a log and sliced it. Halfway through baking I ran out of baking power and so I subbed baking soda + cream of tartar. I only had half a cup softened butter and I was too lazy to soften more so I used ghee, and it tasted great. I did the double stack bake method and I liked how easy it was to separate to add the layers of cream and berries. Five stars well deserved!
Tried this with GF flour - King Arthur Measure for Measure. As others mentioned it required extra cream to hold together. I didn’t stack them and my shortcakes didn’t really rise at all and were tough. I possibly kneaded the dough too much but it took about a minute to get it to adhere enough to roll out. Maybe not stacking made a difference? Maybe it was just the GF flour - it is always hit or miss with baking. Also letting the berries sit for more than 30 min - I think it was about an hour during our dinner - left them more soupy than syrupy. It tasted fine, looked okay, if a little large on the plate, but needed a spoon, fork and knife to hack into the cakes. Not likely to make this again.