Strawberry Shortcakes

Food

Audio By Carbonatix

Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup plus 1 tsp. sugar, divided
• 1½ tsp. kosher salt, plus more
• 1 lemon
• ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 1 cup sour cream, divided
• 2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 ½ lb. strawberries
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

A few notes on making this:

• This can be a bit labor-intensive, but it’s totally worth it when strawberries are at their peak.
• You can make the shortcake ahead of time (one day before), and then assemble the whipped cream, berries, and shortcake when ready to serve.

Directions:

• Place a rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk 2 cups flour, 1½ tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. baking soda, 4 tsp. sugar, and 1½ tsp. salt in a large bowl to combine.
• Finely grate zest of about half of 1 lemon right into bowl (reserve lemon for later)
• Cut 1 stick cold butter into ½" pieces and toss with dry ingredients until coated. Work butter into dry ingredients by pinching and rubbing it between your palms until there are lots of flat shards and pea-sized bits remaining. Or alternatively, you can pulse a few times in a food processor, then add back into a bowl.
• Combine ¾ cup sour cream and 1/3 cup heavy cream in a medium bowl.
• Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Scrape cream mixture into well. Working in circles from inside the well outwards with a rubber spatula, mix dough until large, shaggy clumps form.
• Knead once or twice (don't overdo it!) until it forms a mass and most of the flour has been incorporated into the dough.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 1"-thick square (it should be about 6x6").
• Cut dough into 4 equal squares, then stack them all on top of each other, creating one very tall tower of dough.
• Press down on stack with your hands, flattening dough back to a square. This stacking method is what will create lots of flaky layers.
• Pat to a 7½x5" rectangle about 1" thick.
• Cut rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each of those 2 rectangles into 3 squares. Transfer squares to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with 1 Tbsp. sugar. Freeze for 10 minutes. (This will help ensure that the shortcakes rise-rather than spread out-in the oven.)
• Bake shortcakes until golden brown all over, 20-25 minutes.
• While shortcakes bake, make your strawberries and whipped cream.
• Trim and discard stems of 1½ Ib. strawberries. Cut smaller ones in half and larger ones into quarters.
• Transfer to a medium bowl. Cut reserved lemon in half and squeeze 2 Tbsp. lemon juice into bowl with strawberries. Add 3 Tbsp. sugar and toss to combine. Let sit at room temperature, tossing occasionally—they will naturally create their own syrup through the mingling of the fruit juices with the sugar and lemon juice.
• Pour remaining 1⅔ cups heavy cream into the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Add 1 tsp. vanilla, 3 Tbsp. sugar, and a pinch of salt.
• With whisk attachment, beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high as cream begins to thicken and soft peaks form.
• Whisk in remaining ¼ cup sour cream until just incorporated.
• Let shortcakes cool at least 15 minutes.
• Gently split shortcakes in half with your hands.
• Place bottom halves in serving bowls and add whipped cream, then macerated strawberries among bottom halves.
• Drizzle any syrupy juices left in bowl over and close with top halves of shortcakes.