Strawberry Shortcake
Isn't there just some kind of magic in the word "shortcake"? It sounds somehow magical, very traditional and utterly delicious. I immediately start thinking about a Victorian tea party, in the summer, in a lovely English garden... As a non-native speaker it sounded also a bit funny at first: short+cake, what's that? (And I have no idea what could be the term in Finnish, help!) When I was looking for the most perfect recipe (as always), I came upon this article. It's about the history of strawberry shortcakes and very interesting (at least to someone who's interested in food and history :D).
The recipe for the shortcake strikes resemblance to scones. As you might know I'm obsessed with scones, so I was really looking forward to making (and eating) these! And they are as good as you can imagine (or better!)! Think about it: sort of a scone, with juicy strawberries and softly-whipped cream... Can't go wrong. Can any dessert say more summer and tea and garden tea party than this? It's like your traditional Finnish strawberries and cream filled cake but with the so much easier and better "cake" part: the flaky crispy scones (or biscuits as Americans call them). The perfect summer dessert. Really. You can whip them up in an instant! I love how rustic and yet elegant they seem: celebrating the fresh taste of strawberries and cream. Seriously: couldn't be better.
The only thing I was worried about (before making them) was if I should have used my go-to recipe for scones, which is PERFECT (thank you Nigella!), but on the other hand I wanted to try a REAL shortcake recipe, which is why I didn't use Nigella's recipe this time (she has a recipe for shortcakes, but since this dessert is American and she's not, I chose another one). I'm sure I'll try Nigella's recipe later, since I really like her recipes in general. One might expect Nigella's recipes to be very sweet but I've found that they are very often perfectly balanced in that aspect (like those scones). The recipe I used was quite similar to Nigella's. It had the option of using egg (like in Nigella's recipe) but I made it without the egg. Otherwise the recipe was almost the same (just slightly less flour and more sugar).
Happy baking and garden tea parties!
P.S. I've been lately obsessing about historical dresses. I was very into them as a teenager and in my 20s and hosted even a Victorian tea party at the time (unfortunately no shortberry shortcakes and not a garden tea party as it was winter or autumn time). Now since I'm living in this lovely neo-classical house with high ceilings and beautiful windows so it would be such a fun thing to arrange. (Well, the party wouldn't be Victorian, as the house is built in 1913, but near enough for me. Let's say Downton Abbey era party :D )
(Probably very boring to those who are not into dresses, clothes' making and historical costume, but I've been binge watching her Youtube channel: I really admire her work, wow!!).
Try out this traditional American summer dessert: it's seriously so tasty and so easy and quick to make. It's like a strawberry cream cake but with flaky, mildly sweet biscuits/scones.
Ingredients:
- 150 ml all-purpose flour
- 90 ml cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cream of tartar (or 1/2 tsp extra baking powder)
- 30 ml granulated sugar
- 45 g cold butter (pref. frozen)
- 80 ml light/single cream or whole milk
- 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
- approx. 300-400 grams strawberries + sugar (the amount depending on your taste and sweetness of strawberries, I used 1 Tbsp, as Finnish strawberries are very sweet)
- 150 ml heavy cream + sugar according to taste
Instructions:
- Slice the strawberries, toss with sugar and leave to macerate while you prepare the rest. Whip the cream to soft peaks and flavour with sugar (and vanilla) according to taste (I used 2 tsp sugar for the cream).
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Combine the flours, baking powder, cream of tartar and sugar.
- Pinch the cold butter to the dry ingredients. Gradually add the cream/milk (you might not need all of it), stirring with a fork until the dough clings together.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. With floured hands knead as little as you can, so that you can form a 1,5-2 cm thick rectangle. Do not overknead, the dough doesn't have to be totally smooth).
- Using a floured 2-3 inch biscuit cutter or other sharp-edged circular cutter, press straight down to cut out the dough (don't turn the cutter as it prevents the flaky edges). Reroll and cut out the remnants.
- Place the biscuits on a baking sheet covered tray. Brush with milk or cream and sprinkle some coarse granulated sugar on top. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then proceed on straight away:
- Halve the shortcakes horizontally with the help of a serrated knife or fork. Place the bottoms on plates, spoon berries and whipped cream on top. Place the biscuit tops over the cream. If desired, top with more whipped cream and spoon additional berries over top. Serve immediately.
- If you are not using all shortcakes at once, don't fill them but freeze them in sealable freezer bags (they can be kept frozen at least 1-2 months). Slightluy before using them, take them to thaw in room-temperature and warm them up in the oven or on top of a toaster. (They thaw quite quickly; maybe in half an hour or even quicker if you finish the process on a toaster or in the oven.)
*Nutritional information is based on average values and is a rough estimate.
Kokeile näitä aivan ihania amerikkalaisia kesäleivonnaisia! Ne on tosi helppo ja nopea tehdä ja maistuvat niin hyviltä. Aivan kuin kesäinen mansikkakermakakku, mutta kakun sijaan lehtevän rapeita skonsseja / biskittejä.
Ainekset:
- 150 ml puolikarkeaa vehnäjauhoa
- 90 ml karkeaa vehnäjauhoa (tms. kakkujauhoa)
- 1 tl leiivnjauhetta
- 1 tl kaliumbitartraattia (cream of tartar) (tai 1/2 tl lisää leivinjauhetta)
- 2 rkl hienoa sokeria
- 45 g kylmää voita (miel. pakastettuna)
- 80 ml kevyt/kahvikermaa tai täysmaitoa
- 1 rkl (ruokokide)sokeria, pinnalle
- noin 300-400 g mansikoita + sokeria maun ja mansikoiden makeuden mukaan
- 150 ml kuohukermaa + sokeria maun mukaan (käytin 2 tl sokeria)
Valmistusohjeet:
- Viipaloi mansikat ja mausta ne sokerilla. Anna mehustua sillä välin, kun leivot. Vatkaa kerma pehmeäksi vaahdoksi ja mausta sokerilla (ja vaniljalla halutessasi).
- Esilämmitä uuni 220°C. Yhdistä jauhot, leivinjauhe, kaliumbitartraatti ja sokeri.
- Nypi kylmä, pieneksi kuutioitu voi kuiviin aineisiin. Lisää kerma (tai maito) (älä laita ihan kaikkea heti, koska et välttämättä tarvitse ihan kaikkea) ja sekoita haarukalla nopeasti yhteen.
- Siirrä taikina kevyesti jauhotetulle pinnalle. Muotoile tai kauli taikinasta jauhotetuin käsin n. 1,5-2 cm paksuinen suorakulmio. Vaivaa taikinaa niin vähän kuin mahdollista, sen ei tarvitse olla täysin sileää. (Skonssitaikina kärsii, jos taikinaa vaivaa liikaa: kakkusista tulee sitkeitä ja kovia.)
- Leikkaa taikinasta 5-7,5 cm pyöreällä muotilla palaset (jos käytät pienempää, saatat saada enemmänkin kuin viisi pyörylää). Älä pyöräytä muottia, vaan paina se suoraan alas, jotta kakkuset kohoavat hyvin ja saavat lehteilevät reunat. Muotoile taikinanlopuista tarvittaessa uusi levy ja painele muotilla lisää kakkusia.
- Laita kakkuset leivinpaperilla vuoratulle pellille. Voitele maidolla tai kermalla ja ripottele pinnalle karkeampaa hienoa sokeria. Paista uunissa n. 12 minuuttia tai kunnes kullanruskeita. Anna jäähtyä 5 minuuttia ja jatka sitten heti:
- Halkaise kakkuset esim. haarukan piikeillä tai sahalaitaisella veitsellä. Aseta pohjat lautasille, lusikoi päälle mansikoita (ja niistä irronnutta nestettä ja kermavaahtoa. Laita lakit päälle ja halutessasi laita lisää kermavaahtoa ja marjoja päälle. Tarjoa heti, nämä ovat parhaita uunituoreina.
- Jos et käytä kakkusia heti, älä täytä niitä vaan pakasta tiiviissä pakastepusseissa. Ota sulamaan hieman ennen käyttöä ja lämmitä niitä esim. uunissa tai leivänpaahtimen päällä hetki.
*Energiasisältö perustuu keskimääräisiin arvoihin ja on karkea arvio.
Follow Kitchenfoxtales via Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook to not miss a post!
Comments
Post a Comment