Strawberry Shortcake
Tools used: Perforated Baking Sheet, Bonmat or Silpain, Cake Server Knife, Roul’pat, Stainless Mixing Bowl, Petite Grater, Beechwood Rolling Pin
For the Strawberries
1 pound strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
For the Shortcake
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold salted butter, cut into small cubes and refrigerated until ready to use
2/3 cup half-and-half, plus more as needed
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
Directions
To make the strawberries, toss together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl, adding 1 additional tablespoon of sugar, if you prefer a sweeter shortcake. Let the fruit sit for 10-15 minutes to release some of its juices; chill until ready to use.
To make the shortcakes, Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the Bonmat on the Perforated Baking Sheet.
In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until incorporated, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated but with lots of pea-size pieces, 10-15 pulses (make sure not to over process). Transfer the mixture to the Stainless Mixing Bowl and stir in the half-and-half until just incorporated and fully moist (do not overwork), adding more half-and-half a tiny bit at a time if necessary; the dough will be slightly sticky.
Transfer the dough to the Roul'pat that is lightly floured, using floured hands, gently knead twice, then form into a 6 x 1-inch square, adding more flour if necessary. Using the Cake Server Knife, cut the dough in half, then cut across each half two times to create six rectangular shortcakes. Brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake until the tops are lightly golden and bottoms are slightly deeper golden, 12 to 13 minutes.
* This recipe is also from one of my favorite cookbooks, Half Baked Harvest. My husband absolutely loves strawberry shortcakes. He likes the Bisquick recipe, which is very easy to make, and could eat it everyday. This recipe is not hard, and if you do not have a food processor you can easily use a fork or a pastry dough blender (the kind to mix pie dough). Make sure the butter is cold. I like to cut it up and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. The lemon zest in the strawberries is fabulous. It adds a wonderful flavor, but it is not overwhelming. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Strawberry season is short, but there is nothing like a home grown strawberry.