Strawberry Shortcake (or any berries for that matter)

Recipe adapted from Stephanie Alexander’s the cook’s companion.

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour
1/3 cup of sugar
80g unsalted butter, softened
2 egg yolks
50ml milk
pinch of salt

36 strawberries, split in half

300ml carton of cream
15g castor sugar

Prep and Cooking Instructions
Method

Shortcake Base

Mix flour, salt & 1/3 cup of sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Rub the soften butter into the flour mixture with the tips of the fingers. The end result should resemble soft sand.
Lightly beat the egg yolks and milk together.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the liquids.
Work together with as little mixing as possible to just get the mixture to form a soft dough.
Do not overwork the dough as it’ll affect the texture of the end product by toughening it.
Turn out onto a work surface and flatten out the dough until it is approx. 2-3cm thick. This can be done with a rolling pin but the dough should be pliable enough to do this by hand.
Using a dough/cookie cutter approx. 10cm in diameter, dip into flour and cut straight down without twisting, to form rounds from the dough.
Combine any scraps and repeat Step 7 until you form approx. 6 rounds.
Place the shortcake rounds onto a baking tray. Use the thumb to make a shallow intend into the top of each dough round to prevent them from bulging in the middle as they rise.
Baking in a preheated 180C oven for approx. 15 mins or until golden brown.
Allow the shortcakes to cool enough to be handled. Using a serrated knife, split each shortcake in half along its equator to form two thinner rounds.
Place the split rounds onto a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature.

Whipped Cream Filling

For the cream filling, add the castor sugar to chilled cream and whip until it achieve soft peaks.
Assemble the Strawberry Shortcakes

Lay down one of the halves of the shortcake as a base onto a serving plate.
Apply a layer of whipped cream, making sure that it doesn’t run out to the edge of the base, as the cream will spread when the other layers are placed on top of it.
Lay down six strawberry halves in a circular formation with the widest end facing outwards.
Place a generous dollop of cream to fill the hollow in the centre and place the other half of shortcake on top, pushing down gently to form a level and steady top.
Lay down another set of six strawberry halves on top of the shortcake in the same fashion as the previous layer.
Additional Comments About this Recipe
I got the recipe from http://theheartoffood.com/recipe-strawberry-shortcake/, the above is a cut and paste from the website.

I find this particular recipe dough a little crumbly, so I added a little more milk (not sure how much, my guess would be btw ard 10-20ml). As usual, dont overwork the dough, or you’ll get a tough cookie. Taste isn’t too bad though.

Here’s Another Recipe (that I would hv liked to try but I did not, coz I ran out of plain flour, thats why I tried the above recipe as it’s using self raising flour). I ‘think’ this recipe might be better http://gourmettraveller.com.au/strawberry-shortcake.htm.

Submitted by Phyllis, a Munch Ministry member.