Picture it: a still-warm biscuit sliced in half and filled with luscious strawberries. Whipped cream is slathered thickly over the berries and top and sprinkled with a few fresh mint leaves.
Strawberry shortcake is the dessert of desserts, a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.
From Louisiana to New Jersey, folks believe their own local strawberries make absolutely the best shortcake. But here in the Midwest we know that assumption is perfectly correct. The strawberries from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin are at their juiciest and most flavorful right now.
Of course, you can enjoy strawberries au naturel, just popped into the mouth, but nothing beats shortcake for a sumptuous summertime dessert. It`s a piece de resistance.
Several classic strawberry shortcake recipes follow. One is from the lovely, rambling Commander`s Palace restaurant in New Orleans, where strawberry shortcake is a hallmark dessert in early spring. Another is adapted from the one served at Mr. B`s, also in New Orleans.
But before the recipes, let`s look at the architecture of a perfect strawberry shortcake. There are three ”floors,” so to speak, to this dessert: the shortcake itself, the strawberries and the cream. How you build each floor determines how wonderful your dessert will be.
The shortcake
No, those spongy little circles of brown cake that you find wrapped in cellophane next to the strawberries in the supermarket don`t qualify as shortcake. Although soft cake often is served with strawberries, we are talking about the biscuit type of shortcake here. Because baking powder is used to leaven the biscuits, they are called baking powder biscuits.
Shortcake is richer than your ordinary biscuit, however. It`s buttery, slightly sweet, crunchy and admirably textured to absorb the juices and cream. It can be spread with butter before topping with strawberries, or sprinkled with a little sugar, or both.
The dough should not be overworked. Chef Jamie Shannon of Commander`s Palace tells his cooks to touch the dough as little as possible while mixing. ”The biscuits should be flaky and airy, and still warm when served,” he said.
The strawberries
About 75 percent of all the strawberries grown nationwide are from California. California berries are hardy and firm (they have to be, to be shipped all over the country) but our local berries, fresh from the fields, are slightly softer, juicier and more flavorful.
At this time of year, you want local berries. They`ll be smaller, softer and more vulnerable than their California kin. Your supermarket probably won`t give you a choice in specific variety, but you definitely should have a choice between local and California berries.
”Ours need to be taken care of quickly; they can`t sit in a hot car for a couple of hours,” says Marcia Thompson, whose family owns Thompson`s Strawberry Farm, five miles north of the state line on Wisconsin Highway 50, near Bristol, where you can pick your own berries (now, and for about the next two weeks).
Pick-your-own farms and farm stands are the best places to get local berries.
”You want a berry that`s red right up to the stem, a nice deep red,”
says chef John Bogan of Christopher`s on Halsted. Avoid berries with white shoulders and no aroma.
At home they should be refrigerated. If there`s plastic wrap, remove it. Before serving, rinse briefly, pat dry and hull. If you hull them before washing, they are apt to get watery. Some people say that a little black pepper brings out the flavor. Or a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Another way of bringing out the flavor is to slice and sprinkle with a little sugar, then let the berries stand for a while before serving. This method will bring out the juice.
Eight medium-size strawberries (about a cup) have only 50 calories, no fat, no cholesterol and lots of vitamin C and fiber, so eat to your heart`s content. (Of course, putting them on top of the shortcake and covering with cream creates a slightly different nutritional picture.)
The cream
Whipped cream can be a little tricky.
Purists will tell you that for the finest, you want cream that is not ultrapasteurized. Ultrapasteurized cream has been heated to a higher degree than the non-ultra and thus has a longer shelf life; it doesn`t whip quite as well as the non-ultrapasteurized whipping cream, and some say the flavor isn`t as good.
However, the chances are that you`re going to be using ultrapasteurized because that`s what`s offered in most stores. Some dairies and supermarkets, such as Treasure Island and Dominick`s, now are offering a choice, however. Look for a container that says heavy cream, or whipping cream. It probably will be about 36 or 40 percent butterfat.
”Make sure it`s very cold,” said chef Shannon. ”And don`t overwhip it. Ultrapasteurized is what I use, and it`s just fine.”
In addition to making sure the cream is cold, chill the beater and bowl before whipping. There are different degrees of whipping, and the one you want is called ”chantilly,” which means it`s firm enough to form soft peaks and cling to the beaters. (Other stages are ”bavarian,” which is very soft;
”decorating,” quite thick, used for frosting cakes; and ”piping,” which can be put through a pastry tube.)
One cup of whipping cream will give you about two cups of whipped cream. The sugar and vanilla are whipped in near the end, after the cream has started thickening. Heavy cream, whipped to the right consistency and sweetened with a little sugar (either granulated or confectioners`) and a good-quality vanilla is good enough to eat all by itself, by the spoonful (you probably wouldn`t want to get caught in this act, however).
But that`s not what we`re doing here. The combination of buttery, flaky shortcake with ripe, juicy strawberries and rich, thick cream is part of what summertime eating is all about.
Read on for recipes. And enjoy.
COMMANDER`S STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
This recipe is adapted from the one used by Chef Jamie Shannon at Commander`s Palace in New Orleans.
SHORTCAKE BISCUITS:
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup milk
Strawberry mixture:
4 cups small strawberries, rinsed, hulled
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur
Whipped cream:
3 cups cold whipping cream
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
Confectioners` sugar
Fresh mint leaves for garnish
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Have an ungreased baking sheet ready.
2. For shortcake biscuits, put flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into food processor. Process to mix. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk; process just until dough gathers. (To make by hand, mix dry ingredients in large bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until coarse crumbs form; add milk; toss with fork until dough gathers.)
3. Transfer dough to a well-floured work surface. Roll lightly to about 1-inch thickness. Cut with floured 3-inch biscuit cutter into 6 biscuits.
(When rerolling scraps, work dough as little as possible.) Put onto baking sheet. Bake until tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
4. While biscuits bake, prepare strawberries. Puree 1/4 cup of the strawberries in food processor or blender. Cut remaining strawberries in half if large. Put into large bowl; add strawberry puree, sugar and liqueur. Mix well. Let marinate at least 30 minutes or up to several hours in the refrigerator.
5. Whip cream in a large chilled bowl using chilled beaters until soft peaks form. Beat in granulated sugar.
6. To assemble, split warm biscuits in half. Sprinkle tops of biscuits with confectioners` sugar. Put bottoms onto serving plates. Top with a generous amount of the strawberries and then some of the whipped cream. Put top of biscuits over whipped cream and spoon a little more cream on top. Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.
MR. B.`S STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
Here is an adapted recipe from Mr. B.`s is another famed New Orleans restaurant.
4 cups bleached all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3 cups cold whipping cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
3 pints fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Have ungreased baking sheets ready.
2. Sift together flour, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixer bowl. Add eggs and 1 cup of the cream. Mix until blended, about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup butter pieces and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
3. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Use a floured 2 1/2-inch-diameter cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to make 12 shortcakes. Place on baking sheets. Bake in middle of oven until lightly browned on top, 10 to 12 minutes. (This may be done ahead. Store shortcakes in an airtight container.)
4. Cut large strawberries in half. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of the sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Toss; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Whip the remaining 2 cups cream to soft peaks. Add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the vanilla. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
6. To assemble, cut each shortcake in half. Spread remaining 4 tablespoons butter on the bottom halves. Place on plate or shallow bowls. Spoon strawberries on each half, then cover with whipped cream. Add top half of each shortcake and cover with whipped cream. Garnish with remaining strawberries.
