A classic sweet

No dessert is more quintessentially American than Strawberry Shortcake, which is why I knew I had to make it for my new friends and neighbors, one of whom happens to be a long-time American expat. Shortcake is terrific for entertaining because the various components can be prepared well in advance and then quickly assembled before serving. The key to this dessert is the strawberries: You want fragrant, vivid, bursting with summer flavor berries. They should be so enticing that you cannot stop yourself from stealing a few from the bowl. There’s no compensating for inferior berries, so don’t even try.

Strawberry Shortcake
Serves 6

The strawberries

8 cups washed, hulled, and thinly sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced (zest it first and use the zest in the biscuits)
Optional: 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier 

 **Prep these a few hours (and up to 8) in advance so their flavors reach a peak.

1. Put 1 cup of the strawberries in a small blender with the sugar and lemon juice. Purée, then pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar is melted. Remove from heat.

2. Place the remaining strawberries in either a bowl or a covered container. Pour the hot purée over them, toss with a wooden spoon, cover, and refrigerate until needed. 

The shortcake

Shortcake is a form of biscuit and I use my Perfect Biscuit recipe on page 35 of my cookbook, Just Cook with Sally, with a few simple modifications. This recipe makes 10 to 12 biscuits, and you only need six, so freeze the ones left over or have them from breakfast.

2 cups unbleached or all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons Crisco shortening
zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup heavy cream plus more for brushing biscuits
1/2 cup (or more) whole or 2% milk
1 tablespoon coarse-grain sugar (use regular if you do not have)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425° before baking. You can make the biscuits up to four hours in advance, doing all the steps up to baking. Fresh baked tastes best!

2. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter and Crisco, along with the lemon zest, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Pour in the cream and about two-thirds of the milk. Stir quickly with a fork, trying to gather the dough into a ball. Add the remainder of the milk (and additional if needed) a tablespoon at a time, scraping the bottom of the bowl, until the dough forms into a workable ball. Do not overmix.

3. Lightly flour a work surface. Place dough on the surface and knead a few times with the heel of your hand. Flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough in a ½-inch thick square or rectangle. Fold dough in half, which allows your biscuits to be easily split. Roll out just a little bit more so the halves stick together.

4. Use a two-inch round biscuit cutter and cut rounds. Gather scraps back into a ball, roll, and repeat. Handle as little as possible. Use a pastry brush to paint the tops of the biscuits with the heavy cream, then sprinkle with the sugar. Place rounds on an ungreased baking pan, sides of biscuits touching. Either bake now for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown, or tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until baking. 

Whipped cream
This can be made two hours in advance and kept covered and refrigerated.

1-1/3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place cream in a bowl with deep sides. Use a hand-held mixer on high speed to whip. I put my bowl in my sink to whip as the cream just has a way of splattering. When the cream is beginning to thicken, add sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until thick.

2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

To Serve

Set out six plates. Split the biscuits, separating the top and bottom, and place one on each plate. Spoon the accumulated strawberry juices on the inside of the bottom halves of the biscuits, then mound with strawberries, using them all. Top with whipped cream, then decoratively place the biscuit tops at an angle, slightly to the side. This is a nice dish to decorate with a sprig of fresh mint if you have some on hand.