Post updated 7/6/12 with new photos.
Strawberry Shortcakes are one of my favorite, easy desserts to make during the spring and summertime. I love their simplicity- a sweetened biscuit is topped with freshly whipped cream and sweet, fresh berries. Shortcakes are also easily adaptable since you can use whatever berries you like- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or a combination of these would all be delicious. I’ve even made shortcakes with peaches, sauteed apples, or bananas (the bananas were served with a chocolate shortcake and caramel sauce, but that’s a recipe for another day 
).
Over the years I have tried many different shortcake recipes, and some have been better than others. I’d never found one that was good enough to commit to my recipe binder, until now. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, and the shortcakes are light, slightly sweet, and just right for a light dessert on a warm night.
Mother’s Day is this coming weekend, and if you’re looking for a simple dessert to serve, I think these shortcakes would be perfect.
One year ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes and Cookie Dough Frosting
Strawberry Shortcakes
Makes 12 shortcakes
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining.
- Pour in the heavy cream; using a rubber spatula, fold cream into the dough, working in all directions and incorporating crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured fingers, gently pat the dough into a round about 1 1/4 inches thick, pressing in any loose bits. Do not overwork the dough. Use a floured 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits as close together as possible. (Use one cut edge as the edge for the next biscuit.)
- Place the biscuits on an unlined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Brush rounds with lightly beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the biscuits are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- To serve, split biscuits in half with a serrated knife. Place bottom halves on serving plates, top with fresh sliced strawberries and freshly whipped cream, and cover with biscuit tops. Serve immediately.
Shortcake recipe from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
