Have plans to go berry picking this summer? If you are, you may find yourself with an overabundance of fresh fruit. After snacking endlessly on berries between every meal, use some of that fresh summer fruit to create an amazing dessert at home, like strawberry shortcake. This 100% from-scratch recipe is better than those processed store-bought cakes from the grocery store.
June officially marks the start of strawberry season, which means now is the perfect time to try out a recipe that will highlight these sweet berries’ beautiful color and taste.
First, you’ll need to make your shortcake biscuits out of flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and pepper. Use a pastry blender to mix cold butter until it’s crumbly and then add it into the flour mixture along with fresh diced strawberries and buttermilk. Oh yeah, this shortcake recipe even has berries in the biscuits.
A helpful baking tip for cutting out the biscuits is not to twist your cutter in the dough. It is best to use a straight up and down motion instead. This will help you get easy and clean round shapes for your biscuits.
While your biscuits cool, it’s time for the whipped yogurt. Whisk together Greek yogurt, heavy whipping cream, powdered freeze-dried strawberries, honey, salt and rose water in a stand mixer. This will create a delightful whipped yogurt with a hint of floral aroma. If you don’t plan on using it right away, this whipped yogurt can last in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Finally, make a strawberry coulis by adding fresh strawberries, brown sugar and lemon juice. You can either save it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or pour the coulis on top of the whipped yogurt and cover it with another biscuit on top, then serve immediately. Now you know how to make freshly baked strawberry shortcakes that are just right for this season.
If you’re feeling experimental, you can try this recipe using other fruits in season, like these delectable cherry dessert recipes.
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries
3/4 cups whole buttermilk, plus more for brushing
For the Strawberry Whipped Greek Yogurt:
1 cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries, powdered
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon rose water
For the Strawberry Coulis:
2 cups hulled and halved fresh strawberries
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup quartered fresh strawberries
For the Shortcakes:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups flour, ⅓ cup cornmeal, 2 tablespoons sugar, ¾ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Using a pastry blender, cut in 6 tablespoons cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in ½ cup diced strawberries. Stir in ¾ cup buttermilk just until flour is moistened.
Step 3: On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut dough, rerolling scraps only once. Place on a prepared pan.
Step 4: Brush the top of shortcakes with buttermilk. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely. Cut shortcakes in half horizontally.
Step 5: Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons strawberry whipped Greek yogurt onto the bottom half of shortcakes. Top with about 2 tablespoons strawberry coulis. Cover with the top half of the shortcakes. Serve immediately.
For the Strawberry Whipped Greek Yogurt:
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 1 cup Greek yogurt, ¾ cup heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup powdered freeze-dried strawberries, 3 tablespoons honey, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon rose water at low speed until well combined and slightly thickened.
Step 2: Increase mixer speed to high, and beat until thick and stiff, about 5 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
For the Strawberry Coulis:
Step 1: In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups halved strawberries, ¼ cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring and mashing any larger strawberry pieces.
Step 2: In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Add cornstarch mixture to hot strawberry mixture and bring to a simmer; cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup quartered strawberries.
Step 3: Let cool completely. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
By Diamond Bridges
