How to Make Strawberry Shortcake from Scratch

Strawberry season is coming soon!

A few years ago, I took my best friend visiting from Kansas to pick strawberries at a local field. Twenty-seven pounds later, she was still quizzing me. So… what do you do with all of these again?

It never occurred to me that this was unusual behavior. Apparently in some parts of the world, it is. Thankfully, Portland is weird so I am just going to keep picking as much produce as my family will eat over the course of the year.

Berry season is short and sweet. I want to stretch it out for as long as possible. Freezing berries is a great way to do that. Eating as many as you can possibly handle is good, too. Nothing beats sweet berries tucked into soft biscuits with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I love Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for strawberry shortcake for a few reasons.

First of all, by using a food processor, the biscuit ingredients come together quickly and the mess is minimal. You could do this step in less than ten minutes. If you don’t have a food processor, simply use a large bowl and a cheese grater to cut in the butter.

Secondly, you can make the shortcakes ahead of time and chill the formed biscuits until you are ready to bake them, a great summer time saver.

The only unusual ingredient in this recipe is the two hard-boiled egg yolks. I usually keep a few hard boiled eggs on hand in the fridge, scoop out the yolks, and toss them in. These biscuits also make a great topping for cobbler using sweetened seasonal fruit.

This is an easy, delicious way to use up an abundance of sweet Northwest strawberries. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcakes
Barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 6 Shortcakes

Ingredients

1 2/3 c. flour
3 T. sugar
1 T. plus 1/2 t. baking powder
2 hard-boiled egg yolks
1/8 t. salt
6 T. cold butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
2/3 c. heavy cream

1/2 pound strawberries, washed, hulled, quartered, and tossed with a little sugar
whipping cream or vanilla ice cream

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, egg yolks, and salt. Pulse to combine.
2. Add the butter and pulse until the flour resembles coarse meal. Add 2/3 cup of cream and pulse until the dough comes together in a soft, sticky ball.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a couple times, then pat it into a rough 6″ circle, about 1″ thick.
4. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into 6 wedges and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you could also use a cookie cutter to make shapes of your choice). Chill for 20 minutes – 2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator, brush the tops of the shortcakes very lightly with cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
6. Bake until golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Meanwhile prepare your strawberries and whipping cream, if using.
7. Split the shortcakes in half and set the tops aside. Place the bottoms on dessert plates and pile a scoop of strawberries over them. Spoon whipped cream or ice cream over the strawberries and replace the shortcake tops.

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