Strawberry Shortcakes

For Fathers Day, I put myself in charge of desert. I actually volunteered for this course before I chopped off my finger, and it turned out to be a good thing. Cutting vegetables for skewers still sounds dangerous to me (I think I have PTSD when it comes to knives). I did cut all of the strawberries by myself, but I used a small, non-threatening paring knife!

Half way through the 3 batches of shortcake I made, I ran out of white flour, so I used the whole wheat that I had on hand. I had already gone to the grocery store that morning, and really didn't want to go back for flour. It turned out ok anyway, because dad preferred the whole wheat, and since he is what fathers day is all about, I say it was a success. The wheat flour did make the shortcakes more grainy, but there was the added bonus of adding more strawberries and syrup to soften them up! Oh wait, dad is diabetic, that may not have been the best idea!

Recipe courtesy of Cooks Illustrated "American Classics" 2010

*Prepare the filling first so the juices have time to become syrupy and sweet.

-Fruit

8 cups strawberries (about 2 1/2 pounds), hulled

6 Tbs sugar

-Shortcakes

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting workstation

5 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. table salt

8 Tbs (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. half and half or whole milk

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

-Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, cold

1 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1. For the fruit:

Place 3 cups of hulled strawberries in large bowl and crush with potato masher. Slice remaining 5 cups berries and stir into crushed berries along with the sugar. Set fruit aside to macerate for at least 30 min and up to 2 hours.

2. For the shortcakes:

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In food processor (I use my blender, works great), pulse flour, 3 Tbs. of sugar, baking powder and salt to combine. Scatter butter over and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 1-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl.

3. Mix beaten egg with half-and-half in measuring cup. Pour egg mixture into bowl with flour mixture. Combine with rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn mixture onto floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.

4. Use fingertips to pat dough into 9 by 6 - inch rectangle about 3/4 inch thick, being careful not to overwork dough. Flour biscuit cutter (I used a cup) and cut out 6 dough rounds. Place rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheet, brush tops with beaten egg white, and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbs. sugar.

5. Bake until shortcakes are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

6. For the whipped cream:

While shortcakes bake, chill nonreactive, deep 1 to 1 1/2 quart bowl and beaters for hand held mixer in freezer for at least 20 minutes.

7. Add cream, sugar, and vanilla to chilled bowl. Beat mixture at low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume, about 20 seconds for soft peaks. If necessary, finish beating cream by hand to adjust consistency.

8. To assemble:

When shortcakes have cooled slightly, split them in half (bottom from top). Place each shortcake bottom on individual serving plate. Spoon portion of fruit and then a dollop of whipped cream over each shortcake bottom. Cap with shortcake top and serve immediately. Enjoy.