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Strawberry shortcake

Strawberry shortcake

Published on June 2, 2020 | By
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    • Prep Time
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    • Cook Time
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The strawberry shortcake fascination is still going strong for me ! Why ? …because of images of an adorable little girl resembling the precious moments collection of hand painted ceramic figurines wit the most lifelike and truly ‘precious’ expressions.

Mom collected these on my behalf and I became equally besotted with them.Would even buy one every time for my childhood bff … these days she’s referred to as a chaddi buddy !!!

The strawberry shortcake character wore this frilly dress printed…with strawberries of course, had large strawberry blonde coloured curls and wore a large straw hat with more strawberries ! I am not sure if it was her or the cake which drew my attention more but I did love to hear the words “Strawberry shortcake”…I still do ..heart eye emoji and all.

Those who are familiar with the way I cook know that certain ingredients don’t really find their way into our pantry…fresh cream being one of them. I tried thinking of other options for this one…buttercream , meringue…but the shortcake had to have fresh cream.

Whipping cream is also something I don’t do.I know the technique of it in theory but never put it to practice. The box of red ,plump strawberries from the Wild Earth Food organic store, just sat there looking all radiant and juicy , willing me to give the strawberry shortcake a go !

The thoughts that pushed me to do this were… If not now when ? What can go wrong ? Isn’t this the best time to try ? etc etc

And Voila ! It really is one of the happiest recipes which I have tried in a long time. Not just that, it gave me good cause to entice my niece, nephew and their mother over for a quick mid morning snack. Another one to add to those list of heart warming memories !

 

 

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Ingredients

  • Strawberries-500 gms
  • Wheat flour -2 1/4 C
  • Baking powder- 4 tsps
  • Salt-1/4 tsp
  • Sugar for shortcake- 2 Tbsp
  • Vegetable oil- 1/3 C
  • Milk-2/3 C
  • Egg-1 beaten
  • Vanilla extract-1 tsp
  • Sugar for strawberries (Palm sugar)- 1/4 C (please use any sugar you prefer)
  • Double cream for whipping-1/2 C
  • Maple syrup -4 Tbsp or sugar to taste-for the cream

Instructions

  1. To prepare the strawberries for the shortcake there are 2 options; 1. Just mix the strawberries and sugar and set aside in a bowl in the refrigerator. 2. Mix the strawberries and sugar and cook on a low flame until it becomes a sticky compote like in the picture. Set aside to cool.
  2. FOR THE SHORTCAKE Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C
  3. Grease and line an 8 inch round pan with grease proof paper
  4. Sift together the flour , baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix it.
  5. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the oil. Gently just push the flour mixture into the oil until it starts to form clumps. Using your fingers mix the oil thoroughly into the flour by rubbing the fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Do not press or knead. Ensure that the oil is mixed in uniformly through the flour.
  6. Make a well again and add the beaten egg, vanilla and milk.
  7. Use a rubber spatula and and mix with a folding action gently drawing the flour into the egg and milk. Remember the batter has to be short (lightly mixed) not over mixed or beaten.
  8. It will resemble a bread dough rather than a cake batter.
  9. Spoon it into the prepared tin and place in the oven.It will turn a golden brown in 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it after 15 minutes.
  10. While the cake is baking ,use the time to whip the cream. Take a bowl with icecubes and place a smaller bowl over the top to keep it chilled. Pour the cream into the small bowl. Add sugar or maple syrup as you prefer and beat it with an electric beater until it is thick and fluffy. Set it aside in the refrigerator.
  11. Once the shortcake is done,let it cool completely on a wire rack. Notice the texture. It is between a cookie and a cake.
  12. Once it has cooled, the fun assembly begins. Splitting the cake in half across the centre is easy and you don't need a knife. Take a long thick string . Hold it to the against the cake, halfway where you want to make the cut. Then using both hands on either side holding the string ,pull the string towards you , through the cake. You can pull it straight out or crisscross your arms as the string reaches the end to ease it out. Trust me, it's so easy and you will always want to split a cake in half after trying this out.
  13. Take the top half and turn it upside down. This is your base. Add 3/4 th of the strawberries on this half of cake , a few spoonfuls of the whipped cream and sandwich it with the other half of the cake. The reason we do it like this is the bottom half of the cake has a flatter base which is easier to smother cream over.
  14. Now that the shortcake has been assembled. Add the remaining whipped cream on the top.Make a nice ,generous frosting .Dollop with the remaining 1/4th strawberries and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.
  15. Serve it at tea time or as dessert.

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