Strawberry shortcake

Recipe by: Lynn Lewis and Joachim Wahnschaffe | Photo by: Allrecipes

Add photo

Reviews (0)

Tweaks (0)

Serves: 8
Yield: 8 servings
Ready in: 25 mins (15 mins Prep - 10 mins Cook)

This streamlined version of an American classic makes an impressive summer dessert. It is based on a quick, light scone mixture and is filled with yoghurt, whipped cream and lots of juicy fresh strawberries…simply irresistible!

Recipe provided by:

Readers Digest | Baking With Love

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
90g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
80 ml milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon icing sugar
FOR THE FILLING
350g strawberries
90 ml cream, for whipping
90g plain yogurt

Preparation method

Use a baking tray and grease lightly. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre.
Combine the beaten egg, milk and vanilla essence and pour into the dry ingredients. Gradually stir dry ingredients into the liquid; draw together with your hands into a soft dough. Pat into a smooth ball; place on a floured work surface.
Roll out the dough into a 19cm round. Place on baking tray; bake 10–15 minutes or until well risen, firm and browned on the top. Slide the shortcake onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
Using a large serrated knife, slice shortcake horizontally in half. Cut the top layer into 8 equal wedges. Trim a fraction off each so that there is a little space between them when you place them on top of the shortcake. Place bottom layer on a serving plate.
For the filling, reserve 8 whole strawberries; hull the remainder and slice thickly. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Stir yogurt; gently fold it into the cream until blended.
Spread cream mixture thickly over the bottom shortcake layer and cover with sliced strawberries, pressing them into the cream.
Sift icing sugar over the short-cake wedges and place on top of the shortcake. Slice the reserved strawberry lengthwise, leaving the slices attached at the stalk end. Fan them out slightly and place one on each shortcake wedge. This cake is best eaten within a few hours of being assembled.

Top Tip

Rinse strawberries in cold water, then hull them. If you hull them before rinsing, they will absorb excess water. To hull a strawberry, remove both the leafy cap and the white ‘core’ attached to the cap. Use a small paring knife to dig it out quickly. * Whipping the cream incorporates air into it and increases its volume, thus making a modest amount go quite a long way.

Try this, too…

For Spiced Shortcake add 1 tsp ground cinnamon to the scone mixture with the caster sugar. Stone and slice 225 g ripe plums. Reserve 8 slices for decoration. Place remainder on top of cream. Reserve 8 black-berries from 225 g and press the remainder into the cream with the plums. Finish as in the main recipe, decorating the top of the shortcake wedges with the reserved plum slices and blackberries.