Strawberry Shortcake

It's finally strawberry season again. This and peach season are my two favorite fruit seasons. Mmm. Here's how I make strawberry shortcake:

Strawberries

2 quarts strawberries, washed, stems removed, and cut into halves or quarters

3 tablespoons sugar

Add sugar to strawberries. Stir to coat strawberries with sugar. Let sit at least 15 minutes so sugar will dissolve.

Biscuits

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

(or 2/3 cup half-and-half instead of milk and heavy cream)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg, cream, and milk; stir with a fork until just moist. Form into a ball and pat out on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/2 to 3/4-inch. Cut into rounds with a large round cookie cutter or an inverted glass. Stack two biscuit rounds, one on top of the other on a baking sheet. Place on a greased cookie sheet (or a silpat lined cookie sheet -- my preference) and bake for about 14 minutes. Makes about 6 double height biscuits.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add cream, sugar, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl with whisk attachment and beat on high speed until cream is whipped.

Assembly

Place one double biscuit in a large bowl. Add a scoop of french vanilla ice cream. Add about 1/6 of the strawberries. Top with whipped cream. Makes 6 large strawberry shortcakes.