Strawberry Shortcake

Introduction

How to make a shortcake dough that would go with any berries.
The strawberries are sliced with an egg cutter and marinated in lemon juice and sugar.

Number Serves

• 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 5 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 11/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup milk
• About 1 pound ripe strawberries (or substitute other berries)
• Juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• Strawberry stems or additional mint leaves, for decoration

Directions

Heat the oven to 400-425 degrees F.

Combine the baking powder, sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl.Pour soft butter and mix gently with your fingers, properly crush the butter into the flour mixture to take in it. Add the milk and mix briefly with a spoon/wooden spatula to combine. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with nonstick aluminum foil. To prevent the dough from sticking to hands use a piece of plastic wrap, press dough to form a rough 6-inch square and about 1/2 inch thick. Press your knife into the dough to divide it into 4 small squares; the squares shouldn't be separated yet, simply marked with the knife to create it simple to separate them when baking.Bake for concerning quarter-hour, till nicely browned.

Meanwhile, hull the strawberries, reserving four nice stems for decoration. Using an egg slicer, slice the berries. Mix the berries with the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl.Stack the mint leaves along, roll into a tight scroll and cut into strips. Add to the berries and put aside until serving time.

When ready to serve, separate the shortcake into the four squares and split the squares in 1/2 horizontally. Place the bottom halves on individual plates and divide the berries and juice among them. Cover with the shortcake top halves and top with the sour cream, spoon a large dollop onto the center of each cake. Decorate each dessert with a berry stem or mint leaf and serve.

This recipe is from “A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the Kitchen With Shorey” by Jacques Pépin.

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