Making Strawberry Shortcake with the Kids
The recipe here uses a rich, tender, biscuit dough, made especially moist by the addition of cooked egg yolk, a technique James Beard used. I like to make individual shortcakes because the dessert is more special that way.
I usually make strawberry shortcake once a year when I find first-of-the-season berries in late June at our Missoula farmers’ markets. I split the just-baked rich buttery rounds of shortcake, fill them with lightly sugared berries and whipped heavy cream, top the cakes with more cream and berries, and eat away with a knife and fork.
Just last week while I was in Chicago with my wife visiting our three grandsons, I was astonished to find ripe local strawberries at the Lincoln Park Farmers’ Market. “The berries are three weeks early,” a seller told me. “And it’s because of the amazingly warm weather we’ve been having. Here. Try one.” I bit into the tender berry and was amazed by its sweet and abundant juiciness. There is simply nothing like the deliciousness of a homegrown organic berry. I bought two quarts and decided to make strawberry shortcake with my grandsons. The boys, ages 6, 8 ½ and 11, like to help out in the kitchen. I had them measure out the flour, cut in the butter, and stamp the dough into individual shortcakes. I hulled the berries, whipped the cream, and assembled the desserts. My wife, Dorothy, took the pictures. This year I just may have to make strawberry shortcakes once more when our local berries ripen. But you can’t blame me, can you?
History of Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry shortcake must be made with the tenderest, most succulent, in-season berries or not at all. Whoever was inspired to make the first one is anybody's guess, but recipes for biscuits began appearing in American cookbooks in the early 1800s, so I’ll bet it wasn’t long before someone had the idea to enrich biscuit dough with butter and sugar and use it as the base for a sweet dessert with cream and fruit. The recipe here uses a rich, tender, biscuit dough, made especially moist by the addition of cooked egg yolk, a technique James Beard used. I like to make individual shortcakes because the dessert is more special that way. You can get the biscuits ready for baking hours ahead and refrigerate them. Combine the strawberries with sugar about an hour or so before you serve the shortcakes to encourage the berries to release their delicious juices. Be sure to use the best heavy cream you can find. Strawberry shortcake is an indulgence, but when the berries are really fine, there is no better dessert.
