Fresh-out-of-the-oven scones, locally-picked strawberries and homemade whipped cream are the key ingredients to this strawberry shortcake that will kick-start summer.
Ingredients
Scones
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
6 Tbsp butter, softened and cut into cubes
¾ cup milk
Homemade whipped cream
½ pint of whipping cream
½ – 1 tsp vanilla, to taste
½ Tbsp sugar, to taste
Strawberries
2-3 cups sliced strawberries
A couple spoonfuls of sugar, to taste
Instructions
Scones
Sift and measure the flour.
Resift it with the other dry ingredients.
Work the softened butter cubes into the dry mix with a pastry blender or a fork. Add the milk.
Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces and roll each piece to the thickness of biscuits.
Cut each dough ball into four wedges (to make 8 scones in total) and place them on a greased baking sheet.
Bake them at 400-425 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Mix the ingredients together and beat them on high using a hand-held mixer or a KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attachment. It will take several minutes for the liquid cream to transform into stiff peaks.
If you beat the whipping cream until it is too stiff you can add more cream and continue beating. This is also a good trick if you are using leftovers the next day. Leftover whipped cream often starts to separate and lose its form. Simply add more cream (if need be) and whip it again.
Shortcake
Mix the sliced strawberries with a small amount of sugar to round out the sweetness and give the berries a syrupy consistency. I usually only use a small spoonful of sugar, depending on the natural sweetness of the berries.
Working with one scone at a time, slice the scone in half and place the bottom in a bowl.
Spoon some berries over the scone and cover it with the the top half of the scone.
Top the shortcake with a dollop (or two!) of whipped cream.
Recipe by Itsy Bitsy Foodies at http://itsybitsyfoodies.com/strawberry-shortcake/