Elizabeth Beard’s Strawberry Shortcake
Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty
It may be a kind of sacrilege, but my household prefers to eat this open-faced. It’s easier to eat—you avoid squishing the fruit and cream out over the sides of the shortcakes and onto the plate. It’s also a better ratio of fruit to cream when you spoon the berries and cream onto each half, but it’s true that the presentation suffers. If you’ve got company, you can serve them stacked and let them take it apart themselves.
NOTE: The print version of this story contains an errant ingredient at the bottom of the ingredients list. Please disregard the extra 1½ teaspoons kosher salt with our apologies!
Serves 6
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled
2 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed with a fork or pushed through a small-mesh sieve
1¾ cup chilled heavy cream, divided
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3 pints fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and halved or quartered, depending on size
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Mix in ¼ cup sugar and the salt.
Add the chilled butter cubes and, using your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Add the mashed hard-boiled egg yolks.
Add ¾ cup cream, little by little. Gently mix until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and gently knead into a smooth ball (about two or three turns). Gently pat down the dough to make a flat 1-inch-thick slab. Using a lightly floured 2½-inch-round biscuit cutter or an overturned glass, cut straight down to create 6 shortcakes. Place the shortcakes on a plate lined with waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or overnight.
Just before baking, brush the tops of each shortcake with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Transfer the chilled shortcakes to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake on the center rack of the oven until golden and firm to the touch, 15–20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
While the shortcakes cool, prepare the fruit filling and whipped cream. Place the strawberries in a large bowl. Gently toss with 2 tablespoons sugar and let sit until macerated, up to 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the remaining chilled heavy cream on low and gradually increase speed until it begins to thicken. Reduce speed, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and begin to slowly increase the speed until the whipped cream is thickened, about 4 minutes total.
Alternately, vigorously shake cream and sugar in a large Mason jar until desired consistency is reached, 10–15 minutes, depending on upper-body strength and determination.
Using a fork or serrated knife, cut the shortcakes in half. Place the bottom halves on plates and generously spoon the macerated strawberries and juices over them. Top with a heaping dollop of whipped cream. Top with the other half of each shortcake, or serve open-faced with the top halves on the side. Serve immediately, if not sooner.
This recipe appeared in the Summer 2021 issue as part of a larger story on Shortcakes.
