Small-Batch Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe is silly-simple, but you should have it in your back pocket. And because we do not cook strawberries around here, they stay fresh.

Homemade shortcakes only require a handful of pantry ingredients, but you need heavy cream on hand...which I always have.

I surveyed a few folks in my life about what strawberry shortcake means to them. For some, it's a packaged store-bought sponge cake. For a couple of others, it's an actual butter cake topped with strawberries. But for me and most folks I talked with, strawberry shortcake is a crumbly biscuit topped with macerated strawberries and whipped cream. And that’s what mom made. So that's what we have today

To make the softest shortcakes, swap out the all-purpose flour and baking powder for 160 g of self-rising flour. However, I've found that most folks in my part of the country don't use much self-rising flour.

The chopped lemon verbena is optional but adds a brightness and lemon-drop aroma to this simple dish. I always grow a pot of this herb in my little backyard in the summer, so it’s easy for me to pop out and pluck off a couple of leaves. If you don't have lemon verbena, some basil or tarragon harmonizes well with the strawberries.

Not strawberry season where you are? Try a stone-fruit variation: Swap the strawberries for chopped peaches or nectarines. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent them from browning. I’m enchanted by the combination of peaches and a bit of fresh basil.

Makes 4 servings of shortcake. It can easily be doubled.

Strawberries

1 pint (about 340 g) strawberries

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 fresh lemon verbena leaves

Pinch of fine sea salt

Shortcakes

160 g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

30 g sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

160 g + 1 Tablespoon cold heavy cream, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons coarse turbinado sugar

Whipped cream

115 g (1/2 cup) heavy cream, cold

1 tablespoon sugar

40 g (2 heaping tablespoons) sour cream, cold

Macerate the strawberries:

Wash and hull the strawberries. Cut small ones in half and larger ones into quarters. Finely chop the lemon verbena and rub it into the sugar. Add the sugar and salt to the strawberries and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hours. Give it a stir a couple of times. You want the sugar to dissolve and a lovely ruby syrup to pool in the bottom of the bowl.

Make the shortcakes:

Heat the oven to 400F, with a rack on the upper-middle position. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add 160 g heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine. With your hands, combine into a cohesive dough. If the dough seems dry and won’t come together, add a tablespoon or two of extra cream. Knead it just a bit until it comes together.

On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle. Dip a 3-inch round cookie cutter into flour, then cut out two circles from the dough. Cut by pressing straight down. Do not twist the cutter. Flour the cutter between uses. Bring the dough scraps together, knead briefly, pat it until 3/4-inch thick, and cut one more biscuit out. Repeat until you have 4 biscuits. There may be a few scraps left over.

Set the dough circles onto the parchment-lined baking sheet pan. Brush the top (not the sides!) of each biscuit with cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake at 400F for 18-22 minutes, until risen, deep golden brown on top, and they feel firm when gently pressed in the middle of each shortcake.

Remove the shortcakes from the oven and let them to cool for at least 15 minutes.

Whip the cream:

Combine the heavy cream, sugar, and sour cream in a bowl. Whisk by hand or with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. You can do this a few hours ahead of time and store, covered, in the refrigerator. (Also, it's not a crime to use whipped cream from a can.)

Assemble:

Break each shortcake in half through their equators and put the bottom half onto the serving plate. Spoon 1/4 of the strawberries and syrup over the bottom half of each shortcake. Dollop some whipped cream on top, and replace the shortcake tops. Serve immediately.

This is best served on the same day. Only assemble the shortcakes when you’re ready to enjoy them. Otherwise you can hold the shortcakes up to a day. Rewarm them in a 350F oven for 6-8 minutes to freshen them up. But since they’re quick to whip up, you should really make them fresh.