- Strawberry Shortcake - WildBrain - YouTube
- Shortcake Recipe - Food.com
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- Classic Shortcakes Better Homes & Gardens
For a shortcake dessert I want a biscuit that is a little sweeter and a little lighter. Here’s how I adapted my flaky biscuit recipe into a shortcake biscuit recipe. But wait, before we go any further, for you chocoholics I’ve created a recipe for Chocolate Shortcakes with Chocolate Chips. Share your videos with friends, family, and the world.
| Type | Cake or biscuit |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | UK |
| Main ingredients | Flour, sugar, butter, milk or cream |
| |
Shortcake is a sweet cake or biscuit in the American sense that is a crumbly bread that has been leavened with baking powder or baking soda. In the UK, the term shortcake refers to a biscuit similar to shortbread. They are generally less dense and more crunchy and dry than shortbread.
Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, milk or cream, goat milk and sometimes eggs. The dry ingredients are blended, and then the butter is cut in until the mixture resembles cornmeal. The liquid ingredients are then mixed in just until moistened, resulting in a shortened dough. The dough is then dropped in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, rolled and cut like baking powder biscuits, or poured into a cake pan, depending on how wet the dough is and the baker's preferences. Then it is baked at a relatively high temperature until set.
Strawberry shortcake[edit]
Strawberry shortcake is a widely known dessert made with shortcake. Sliced strawberries are mixed with sugar and allowed to sit an hour or so, until the strawberries have surrendered a great deal of their juices (macerated). The shortcakes are split and the bottoms are covered with a layer of strawberries, juice, and whipped cream, typically flavored with sugar and vanilla. The top is replaced, and more strawberries and whipped cream are added onto the top. Some convenience versions of shortcake are not made with a shortcake (i.e. biscuit) at all, but instead use a base of sponge cake or sometimes a corn muffin. Japanese-style strawberry shortcakes use a sponge cake base, and are a popular Christmas treat in Japan.[1]
The largest strawberry shortcake ever made was in the town of La Trinidad, Benguet in the Philippines on March 20, 2004. It weighed 21,213.40 lb (9622.23 kg.)
Though strawberry is the most widely known shortcake dessert, peach shortcake, blueberry shortcake, chocolate shortcake and other similar desserts are made along similar lines. It is also common to see recipes where the shortcake itself is flavored; coconut is a common addition.
History of strawberry shortcake dessert[edit]
Though today's shortcakes are usually of the biscuit or sponge-cake variety, earlier American recipes called for pie crust in rounds or broken-up pieces,[2][3] which was a variety still being enjoyed in the 21st century, particularly in the South.
The first strawberry shortcake recipe appeared in an English cookbook as early as 1588, according to Driscoll's berry growers. By 1850, strawberry shortcake was a well-known biscuit and fruit dessert served hot with butter and sweetened cream. In the United States, strawberry shortcake parties were held as celebrations of the summer fruit harvest. This tradition is upheld in some parts of the United States on June 14, which is Strawberry Shortcake Day. It wasn't until 1910 that French pastry chefs replaced the topping with heavy whipped cream.[4]
Other uses of the term[edit]
- Fonzie frequently used Shortcake as a nickname for Richie's younger sister Joanie in the comedy series Happy Days.
- 'Strawberry Shortcake' is used as a cartoon character's name in the early 1980s.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Japanese Culture in the Kitchen 'Short Cake''. Nipponia. Web Japan/MOFA. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^The New York Times, May 20, 1885, p. 4, 'Strawberry Shortcake'
- ^Alice Ross, 'July and Strawberry Shortcake' Journal of Antiques and Collectibles, July 2000.
- ^Driscoll's, June 3, 2014 'The Joy of Strawberry Shortcake'
Shortcake Biscuits? Why not shortcake “cakes”? Because, despite the name, a true shortcake is more biscuit than cake. Read on for all the truly fascinating details, or scroll straight to the recipe to get the goods.
Even though the name “shortcake” implies that this dessert would be cake-based, it’s the “short” in the name they tells you that the classic recipe is a biscuit-based dessert.
The “short” refers to a specific type of dough where the fat is cut into the flour to create a pastry that is that is more crumbly than stretchy.
Shortbread cookies and shortcrust pastry are two other “short” doughs. So, in “short” (pun intended), a shortcake is more biscuit than cake.
When making Strawberry Shortcakes I don’t want to use my regular Buttermilk Biscuit recipe for the base. Those biscuits are wonderful, but they’re more savory than sweet and more flaky than cakey.
For a shortcake dessert I want a biscuit that is a little sweeter and a little lighter. Here’s how I adapted my flaky biscuit recipe into a shortcake biscuit recipe.
But wait, before we go any further, for you chocoholics I’ve created a recipe for Chocolate Shortcakes with Chocolate Chips. You’re welcome!
How to make perfect Shortcake biscuits:
- I added a little extra sugar to this recipe to sweeten the biscuits a bit.
- I used more baking powder for a lighter crumb (to absorb the fruit juices!).
- I added 2 eggs to the dough. The eggs give the biscuits a more cakey texture.
- I don’t fold the dough as I do for my regular biscuits. Flaky layers won’t absorb the juice as well as a more open crumb will.
Mistakes I made when making Shortcake Biscuits and how you can avoid them.
Once again, because I was a bit impatient, and maybe I was trying to be too efficient, I didn’t follow my own directions. Here’s how I screwed it up.
Because I had several desserts to make for a family event and had to get them all photographed before leaving the house, I decided to get a head-start on the shortcake biscuits the night before. I tossed the dry ingredients together, cut up the butter, sprinkled it over the mix, covered the bowl, and left it at room temperature overnight.
I mixed the dough first thing in the morning. Because the butter was softened, it broke down instead of staying in little lumps. The butter completely mixed into, and coated, the flour.
Sooo, the coated flour couldn’t absorb the buttermilk & eggs. I could tell right away that the dough was too wet (see the left-hand photos below).
Strawberry Shortcake - WildBrain - YouTube
I proceeded to gently pat the dough by hand as I always do. I cut the first round of biscuits and could tell they were much too soft. You can see in the photo below (middle tray) how much those biscuits spread in the oven.
To compensate, I gathered up the scraps and kneaded in some flour. Of course I added too much flour and kneaded too much, so the second round of biscuits were too tight. You can see in the photo (left-side tray) that the biscuits rose up too much. The crumb was too tight.
Before posting this recipe I knew I had to make the biscuits properly so you could see what they should look like. A few days later I mixed the dough according to the directions (cold butter, minimal kneading). You can see the biscuits on the right-side tray are just right.
The moral of the story? I can’t say it often enough, how you mix a recipe matters as much as the ingredients in the recipe. Also, 30 years of pro-baking doesn’t make you immune to screw-ups.
Scroll through the step-by-step photos to see how to make shortcake biscuits from scratch.
There you have it. Perfectly rich and light biscuits for making Strawberry Shortcakes. But don’t stop there. Top them with any seasonal fruit to make a delicious dessert – Peach Shortcakes, Rhubarb Shortcakes, Cherry & Blueberry Shortcakes, Blackberry Shortcakes. Gimme all the shortcakes!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider leaving a 5-star review.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (10 oz, 285 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (9oz oz, 260 g) cake flour
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup (2 oz, 55g) granulated sugar
- 2 stick unsalted butter (8 oz, 230 g), cold, cut into 1/4' slices
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (350ml) buttermilk
- Extra buttermilk and sugar for topping
Shortcake Recipe - Food.com
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder and sugar. Toss the butter slices into the flour.
- Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the pieces are no larger than a pea.
- Whisk the eggs into the buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk into flour mixture. Toss the mixture with a spoon or spatula until it begins for form a dough. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and lightly knead about 5-10 times to bring the dough together. This is a very wet dough so keep your hands well floured and use a light touch while kneading. You don't wan't to knock all the air out of the dough.
- Use your hands to pat dough to 3/4' thick. Cut rounds with a 3' biscuit cutter. Gently knead together the scraps to cut remaining biscuits. Place the rounds on the sheet pan. Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes (see note).
Notes
The shortcakes are best the day they are baked. To work ahead you can freeze the shortcakes as soon as they are cooled. Defrost and rewarm in the oven before serving.
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