For My Mom, With Love this Mother’s Day 🍓
There has always been just one, single, hands-down winner on my mom’s dessert wish list 🗒. It’s Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Whipped Cream. For Mother’s Day, it is the perfect dessert, if for no other reason than it falls right smack-dab at the heart of fresh strawberry season. My mother is the one who first taught me the shocking truth 😳 about this classic dessert favorite. It’s made best with homemade biscuits, right out of the oven. (Can you hear the sound of …….dah….dah…dah!) Biscuits for dessert??? But, yes indeed! These are sweet buttermilk biscuits. They are filled with the sweetest, freshest, strawberries and always topped with fresh and just slightly sweet, whipped cream.
As a kid, I think the shock of the biscuits came especially hard hitting for me because up until that moment, she always bought those little pre-baked sweet cakes for her strawberry shortcakes. You know the ones, right? They sell them in the grocery store, usually right under the fresh strawberries in the produce section. Truth is, I think she was waiting for one of her children to take up the love of baking so she could have the strawberry shortcakes of her childhood. Well, that kid was me and I’ve been making this Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Whipped Cream since I was about 12 years old.
Truth be told, sometimes I did make them from the can of dough that pops open when you hit it on the kitchen counter! Don’t do it! These are so good and so super easy to make.
The Sweet Strawberries 🍓
The most irresistible fruit is a delicious and fresh strawberry. If you are able to find them at their best, you can really reduce the amount of sugar you use in the recipe.
Wash, remove the hulls and slice 2 quarts of fresh strawberries.
Put the berries into a medium sized bowl and toss with the sugar and the 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice. If your strawberries are very sweet, use about 1/4 cup of sugar. If they are a bit tart, add as much as 1/2 cup, depending on the sweetness you prefer. Cover with plastic directly on top of the fruit, then weight with a plate, topped with a heavy can or jar.
Let the berries sit for a few hours. This will help them mascerate, which is to soften and release some of their juices. 🍓🍓🍓
As a twist on this classic, you can replace the lemon juice with balsamic vinegar and add a teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper to the fruit. Balsamic and pepper are a great combination with the sweet berries and whipped cream.
The Freshly Baked Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits
These light, slightly sweet and buttery little gems are the perfect heavenly vessels for these delicious desserts. A crunchy top gives way to a melt-in-your-mouth, “mile-high”, sweet buttermilk biscuit. Here’s the truth about these biscuits. They are super easy to make and they taste like a dream. You don’t have to be a professional baker 👩🏻🍳 to make these biscuits your signature dish. I promise, they are over the top delish! (Here’s another secret, just omit the vanilla and reduce the sugar to 1 teaspoon and you have the perfect dinner biscuits. Go ahead, give it a try.)
The Easy as Pie Biscuits Recipe
Preheat the oven to 425°
Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper.
Into the bowl of your food processor, add 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Pulse a few times to thoroughly combine the dry ingredients.
Next add 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of very chilled butter that you’ve cut into small squares.
Use icy cold butter for this process!Pulse until the mixture becomes very crumbly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract with 1 large egg and 1 cup of buttermilk. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and pulse a few times until the liquid is absorbed.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and just push it together, just until it holds together.
Pat the dough out until it’s about 3/4″ thick, and cut it into 2 1/2″ to 3″ circles. (If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, use a drinking glass. I actually used a wine glass 🍷, just the perfect size.) The secret to success is to push down on the dough and pull the biscuit straight up. No turning. Keeping the shape without deflating the dough. The less handling, the lighter the biscuits.
You will have enough scraps to make a 10th biscuit. Just gather up the scraps and shape into the last biscuit. (I call that the bakers biscuit and we don’t need to tell anyone about it, it’s just our little secret 😉🤐.)
To Bake
Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with milk, cream or buttermilk for a crispy brown crust, and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving.
The Freshest Whipped Cream!
There are few things I make that rally such complete shock and aaaahhhhhh! as when I make homemade whipped cream. It’s probably the easiest trick in the book, yet everyone seems to go bananas over it. I get the whole canned whipped cream thing. It’s easy and convenient. But seriously, making real whipped cream takes no time and there is a major flavor difference between the two. Plus, when you make the whipped cream, everyone will think you’re a celebrity chef or something! Not to mention, it’s a key ingredient in this simple Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Whipped Cream recipe.
Chill a medium sized bowl and the beaters ahead of time. You don’t have to, but it does make it go even faster and set a bit better. If you forgot, don’t let that stop you. See, I might be scaring you away from making this. It really is fool-proof to whip.
Pour the cold cream into a chilled bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Whip to soft peaks.
Use freshly whipped cream immediately.
To Assemble The Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Whipped Cream
Split open the biscuits, spoon half the berries and whipped cream on the bottom half, top with remaining biscuit halves, and spoon on the remaining berries and top with more whipped cream.
Top with a bit of freshly grated orange zest if desired. The orange zest 🍊 adds another layer of fresh flavor, smells sensational and it looks pretty too.
Strawberry Shortcake with Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits and Fresh Whipped Cream
Notes
For a change of flavor, try the version with balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Just replace the lemon juice in the fruit for 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and add 1 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper.
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, or 1/2 cup shortening
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons milk (or buttermilk)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
For the Strawberries
- 2 quarts fresh strawberries
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar (depending up the sweetness of your berries*)
For The Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Optional: Orange zest
Optional Version:
- replace lemon juice with 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
For the Strawberries
- Wash, remove the hulls and slice the strawberries
- Put the berries into a medium sized bowl and toss with the sugar and the lemon juice. Cover with plastic directly on top of the fruit, then weight with a plate, topped with a heavy can or jar. Let the berries sit for a few hours.
For the Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine thoroughly.
- Add the the very cold butter or shortening and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
- Whisk the vanilla and egg with the milk, then add all at once to the dry ingredients and pulse a few times until the liquid is absorbed.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and push the dough together, just until it holds together.
- Pat the dough out until it's about 3/4" thick, and cut it into 2 1/2" to 3" circles. (If you don't have a biscuit cutter, use a drinking glass). Try to make only one pass with the cutter. You can actually make a 10th biscuit with the scraps. Just form it into the same shape as the others. The less handling, the lighter the biscuits.
- Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with milk for a shiny surface, and sprinkle with sugar
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
- Remove them from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving.
For the Whipped Cream
- Pour the cold cream into a chilled bowl.
- Add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- Whip to soft peaks.
- Use freshly whipped cream immediately
To assemble the shortcakes
- Split open the biscuits, spoon half the berries and whipped cream on the bottom half, top with remaining biscuit halves, and spoon on the remaining berries and top with more whipped cream.
- Top with a bit of freshly grated orange zest if desired
Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
