What's For Dessert: Simple Strawberry Shortcake

One of my favorite signs of spring is the arrival of fresh strawberries in the marketplace. Up until now, there have been organic strawberries on sale at our local natural foods store -- but at nearly $6/quart, a little too expensive for my taste. Last weekend D and I were in California for my grandmother's 90th birthday, and had the chance to walk through the Sunnyvale farmers market on Saturday morning with my friend Sheri. The amount of fresh produce for sale was overwhelming to my snow-weary eyes. As we walked along, I tasted some of the fresh produce -- I was so in love with the flavor of strawberries for sale that I couldn't resist buying a pint.

{strawberries on sale at the Sunnyvale farmers market}

Fast forward to this past weekend, and while shopping at Golden Harvest I was delighted to find strawberries on sale for less than $2/quart at Golden Harvest. I bought two pints, but I think I may have to go back to buy a flat -- I foresee some jam-making in my future.

In the meantime, I couldn't wait to try out the strawberries. Though not quite as amazing as the ones I tasted in Sunnyvale, to my fresh produce-starved tastebuds they tasted quite delicious. And with a touch of sugar, the strawberries would be the ideal component in a strawberry shortcake recipe. I wanted to make something super simple and didn't want to fuss around with a lot of ingredients. A quick Google search resulted in finding a recipe I could work with; I made a few substitutions based on the ingredients I had on hand, and of course I couldn't help but add in a splash of vanilla, too. For a simple recipe, the shortcake turned out quite well and perfectly complemented the sweetness of the fresh strawberries. Add a healthy dollop of fresh whipped cream on top, and dessert is ready to be served.

Simple Strawberry Shortcake (printer-friendly version)
makes 4-6 servings

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups organic half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced and slightly mashed [stir in some sugar if desired]
1 cup fresh whipped cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 8"x8" baking dish with parchment paper (leave excess on either end so that you can use it as handles to remove the shortcake from the pan once baked) and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Stir in the half-and-half and vanilla until just combined.
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the shortcake is golden brown.
4. Remove the shortcake from the baking dish and set it on a wire rack to cool.
5. Use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out a shortcake into your desired shape. Cut the shortcake in half.
5. Top one half of the shortcake with strawberries and whipped cream. Place the remaining shortcake half on top and serve immediately.

(adapted from this Food Network recipe)

What's For Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake

The inspiration for this dessert was another direct result of reading Bon Appetit at the hair salon the other day; however, the nutritional statistics for their mixed-berry shortcake recipe left a lot to be desired. Not one to be daunted, a quick Internet search resulted in a shortcake recipe from Cooking Light with much more acceptable (for me, at least) calorie and fat counts. A recipe from Vegetarian Times provided an additional idea to substitute drained nonfat yogurt for some of the whipped cream, which also helped to cut the fat count down a little bit, too.

Strawberry Shortcake

makes six servings

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons raw sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (chilled), cut into small cubes

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

For the biscuits (adapted from this Cooking Light recipe):

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Spoon flour into a measuring cup, use a knife to level the flour and pour into a medium-sized mixing bowl.

3. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt to flour. Use a whisk to combine the ingredients.

4. Drop in the cubes of butter; use a pastry blender, knives, or fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Continue until it resembles coarse meal.

5. Pour in the buttermilk and stir to combine; the dough will be sticky.

6. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough a few times. Roll out the dough into a 9" circle. Cut out 2 1/2" circles and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

7. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

8. Remove from the oven and place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool.

For the fruit:

16 oz organic strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and quartered

1 teaspoon raw sugar

1. Toss the strawberries with the sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the citrus whipped cream (adapted from this Vegetarian Times recipe):

1 cup nonfat organic plain yogurt

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange juice

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Place it over a bowl to collect the liquid. Place the yogurt in the lined colander and allow it to drain for at least half an hour. Discard liquid when ready to use.

2. Whip the heavy cream in the chilled bowl of an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

3. Gently fold in the thickened yogurt, orange juice, vanilla, and powdered sugar.

4. Store in a closed container in the fridge until ready to use.

To put it all together:

1. Slice a biscuit in half.

2. Place one half of the biscuit cut-side up on a plate.

3. Spoon a healthy portion of the strawberry mixture on top of the biscuit.

4. Add a dollop of citrus whipped cream atop the berries.

5. Top with the remaining biscuit half.

6. Serve as-is, or top with halved strawberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon.