One of the best things about June is eating a light salad for dinner and having strawberry shortcake for dessert. Every night. Strawberries are so outrageously good when they are picked ripe and eaten fresh! Every week at the Farmer's Market, we buy berries and usually eat at least a pint before even getting home. Picked ripe, these berries don't last too long (never been a problem for us), so we buy them Thursday at the Multnomah Village market, and again Sunday at the Hillsdale market!
Here is our favorite way to make strawberry shortcakes. The shortcake recipe is a James Beard one that has been adjusted to our liking.
Strawberries, 1 cup per person, hulled, halved or sliced
optional: 1 tsp sweetener per cup of berries (our favorite is blackberry honey)
1 3/4 cups flour + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tb sugar
4 Tb butter
3/4 cup cream (or milk or milk substitute)
1 Tb butter for the tops
2 Tb raw sugar
whipping cream, about 3 Tb per person
To make:
1. Prepare strawberries, toss with sweetener if using (sweeteners bring out the syrupy juice)
2. Mix the flours, powder, salt, sugar, and butter by hand with a pastry cutter or in the mixer. Stir in the cream to make a smooth dough that is not too sticky. The dough should be a little crumbly in the bowl but hold together when pressed into a ball.
3. On a floured surface, mash the dough into a round. Roll it briefly with a rolling pin until it is about 1 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (or drinking glass) to cut 10-12 circles.
4. Arrange the shortcakes on a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle raw sugar over the tops (this give it a light crunch).
5. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.
6. Just before serving, pour some whipping cream in the mixer and use the whisk attachment. On high speed, let it whip 2-3 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Do try to avoid getting distracted, as over-whipping cream is a quick way to make butter. Cream is naturally quite sweet and rarely in need of additional sugar. About 3 Tb cream will make about 1 cup of whipped cream.
7. When the shortcakes are ready, split one or two in half on a plate, add strawberries and juice, and a generous dollop of whipped cream.
We also like to make strawberry jam, to enjoy all year.
This site has some nice info on freezing strawberries.
Here is our favorite way to make strawberry shortcakes. The shortcake recipe is a James Beard one that has been adjusted to our liking.
Strawberries, 1 cup per person, hulled, halved or sliced
optional: 1 tsp sweetener per cup of berries (our favorite is blackberry honey)
1 3/4 cups flour + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tb sugar
4 Tb butter
3/4 cup cream (or milk or milk substitute)
1 Tb butter for the tops
2 Tb raw sugar
whipping cream, about 3 Tb per person
To make:
1. Prepare strawberries, toss with sweetener if using (sweeteners bring out the syrupy juice)
2. Mix the flours, powder, salt, sugar, and butter by hand with a pastry cutter or in the mixer. Stir in the cream to make a smooth dough that is not too sticky. The dough should be a little crumbly in the bowl but hold together when pressed into a ball.
3. On a floured surface, mash the dough into a round. Roll it briefly with a rolling pin until it is about 1 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (or drinking glass) to cut 10-12 circles.
4. Arrange the shortcakes on a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle raw sugar over the tops (this give it a light crunch).
5. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.
6. Just before serving, pour some whipping cream in the mixer and use the whisk attachment. On high speed, let it whip 2-3 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Do try to avoid getting distracted, as over-whipping cream is a quick way to make butter. Cream is naturally quite sweet and rarely in need of additional sugar. About 3 Tb cream will make about 1 cup of whipped cream.
7. When the shortcakes are ready, split one or two in half on a plate, add strawberries and juice, and a generous dollop of whipped cream.
We also like to make strawberry jam, to enjoy all year.
This site has some nice info on freezing strawberries.
I just picked 10 pounds of strawberries today at a local farm so I can freeze them and make jame with some friends...they're so pretty!
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