This classic American summer dessert is always a favorite at my family’s 4th of July party, and there’s a bit of a surprise in the topping: a hint of rose and whirls of flavorful strawberries. You can serve this dessert buffet-style and let everyone make their own. If you have other fresh berries, make a medley to top the shortcakes.
[This recipe comes from Zupan’s Markets Summer 2012 issue of Indulge Magazine (Vol. 5, Issue 1) — reprinted with author permission.]
Ingredients
Strawberries:
- 1 qt. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced
- Granulated sugar, as needed
Strawberry sauce:
- 1 pint strawberries, sliced
- 1/3 C powdered sugar
- 1 t. lemon juice or to taste
Shortcake:
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- ¼ C granulated sugar
- 1 T baking powder
- ½ t. salt
- ½ C chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2/3 C milk
- 1 t. vanilla
Summer cream:
- ½ pint whipping cream
- 3 t. granulated sugar
- 1 t. rose water, optional but really worth it
- ½ C Strawberry Sauce
Preparation
To prepare the strawberries:
Place the strawberries in a bowl, sweeten with sugar as needed, and set aside.
To make the strawberry sauce:
In the bowl of a food processor, place the strawberries, powdered sugar, and lemon juice. Puree and set aside for 30 minutes. Makes about 1½ C.
To make the shortcakes:
Preheat the oven to 400˚. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the milk and vanilla,
and stir it into the flour mixture until a dough begins to form.
Dust hands with flour and press dough into a ball. Knead the dough gently on a lightly-floured surface two or three times. Pat out the dough to about a 1″ thickness. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, or knife, cut into 6 shortcakes. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.
To make the summer cream:
In a bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and rose water, and continue to whip until stiff peaks just begin to form. Fold ½ cup strawberry sauce, ¼ cup at a time, into the whipped cream, using a rubber spatula to make a swirling pattern. Leave some “ribbons” of sauce visible.
To assemble the dessert:
Split each warm shortcake, and spread a heaping tablespoons sauce over each half. Spoon the sliced strawberries over each cake, cover with sauce, and top with Summer Cream.