Individual Strawberry Shortcakes
Buttery, flaky homemade individual Strawberry Shortcakes are the perfect summer dessert. Top with whipped cream and berries for a fuss-free, delicious treat
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 250 g Plain (all purpose) flour plus extra for sprinkling and flouring the cutter
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 75 g Caster sugar (superfine sugar) plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 pinch Salt
- 80 g Butter cold and cut into cubes
- 50 ml Buttermilk plus extra for brushing
- 2 Egg yolks
Chantilly Cream
- 300 ml Heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Caster sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
Macerated Strawberries
- 200 g Fresh strawberries
- 1 tbsp Caster sugar
Instructions
Shortcakes
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add cold butter cubes to the flour mixture and pulse until it resembles course breadcrumbs. If making shortcakes by hand, you would simply rub the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Mix egg yolks into the buttermilk, then add the wet ingredients to the bowl. Pulse the food processor again until it starts to form a dough. At this point, I find the best way to bring the dough together is by turning it onto a lightly floured surface and kneading it to a soft dough.
- Using a rolling pin (or just flattening with your hands) roll the dough to approximately 3cm thick (a little over 1 inch). Dip a 6cm biscuit cutter or scone cutter in some extra flour, then press it into the dough. Make sure you just press it in, rather than twisting, as twisting will seal the edges of the dough and prevent the shortcake from rising. Continue with the remaining shortcake dough.
- Place the cut dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each shortcake with a little extra buttermilk, then sprinkle over some sugar
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200 celsius for 15 minutes, until golden brown, then remove from the oven.
- Split each shortcake in half while still warm, then assemble with macerated strawberries and Chantilly cream, starting with the bottom piece of the shortcake, a scoop of berries and a dollop of cream. Add the top layer of shortcake, a scoop of cream and top with the remaining strawberries
Chantilly Cream
- In a 4 cup capacity bowl or jug, place all 3 ingredients
- Using an electric hand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk on medium speed until thick and fluffy (approx 2 minutes). Refrigerate until ready to assemble
Macerated Strawberries
- Wash, trim and hull your strawberries, then slice them into small pieces or slices and add to a small bowl
- Sprinkle over a tablespoon of sugar(to taste) and stir to combine
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until ready to assemble the shortcakes
Notes
- Make sure your butter is cold when adding it to the flour mixture. This will ensure a wonderful tender crumb that will give you the best Strawberry Shortcakes
- If using a food processor, make sure you just pulse the dough long enough for it to come together. Over mixing the biscuit dough can create tough shortcakes.