Strawberry Shortcakes

This Saturday, we went shopping and stopped by a very dangerous local kitchen shop.  While avoiding spending my entire paycheck, I did find one item I've been looking for: the ultimate angel food cake pan (according to America's Test Kitchen). It's a Chicago Metallic Pan with a removable bottom and feet on top so you don't have to stick it on a wine bottle to cool.

I was so excited I brought it straight home and set about making my first-ever angel food cake. I whipped and mixed and poured and popped it in the oven. I waited patiently for it to bake and then for it to cool, upside down, for two hours per the instructions. When I finally cut the cake out of the pan - disaster. In fear of over-mixing, I hadn't mixed well enough and a bunch of unmixed sugar and flour had coagulated and sunk to the bottom of the cake. I was left with a slightly soggy, eggy cake with hard sugary lumps on top. Oh well, it still tasted alright, it just looked terrible.

I'll share the recipe and method when I get it right, but for today, here's a foolproof summer recipe that I make several times a year (it's my dad's favorite), as requested by my sister-in-law:

Strawberry Shortcakes

Fruit

2              quarts strawberries, hulled
6 T          sugar

Shortcakes

2 c           all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
5 T          sugar, divided
1 T          baking powder
½ t          salt
8 T          (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
2/3 c      half-and-half
1 lg         egg, lightly beaten
1 lg         egg white, lightly beaten

Whipped Cream

1 c           heavy cream, chilled
1 T          sugar
1 T          amaretto or vanilla extract

1.       Make the Fruit: Crush 3 cups of the strawberries with a potato masher.  Slice the remaining 5 cups of berries and stir into the crushed berries along with the sugar.  Let sit at room temperature until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are juicy, about 30 minutes.

2.       Make the Shortcakes: While the berries are macerating, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425⁰.  Pulse together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt in a food processor until combined.  Scatter the butter pieces over the top and process until the mixer resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses.  Transfer to a bowl.

3.       Blend the half-and-half with the beaten egg and pour into the bowl with the flour mixture.  Stir with a rubber spatula until large clumps form.  Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly until the dough comes together.

4.       Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9 by 6-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick.  Cut out 6 dough rounds using a floured 2 ¾ -inch biscuit cutter. Reform the remaining dough and cut 2 more rounds.  Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

5.       Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.  Let the shortcakes cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.

6.       Make the Whipped Cream: Meanwhile, mix the cream, sugar, and amaretto or vanilla in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy and the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.  Increase the speed to high and continue to whip until doubled in volume and soft peaks form, about 1 to 3 minutes.

7.       Assemble the Cakes:  Split each biscuit in half, laying the biscuit bottoms on individual plates.  Spoon a portion of the fruit over each bottom, then top with a dollop of whipped cream.  Cap with the biscuit tops and dig in!



Source: America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book