New Meal Monday: Strawberry Shortcake

For anyone who likes berries, this is an excellent time of year in Vermont! The fresh strawberries were in abundance at local farmer's markets the past two weekends so it was a no-brainer to focus this week's post on a strawberry recipe. I toyed with the idea of trying something new, maybe a tart or a crumble, but I kept coming back to the classic Strawberry Shortcake. This has always been a favorite of mine growing up, and when topped with fresh local strawberries, it's really hard to beat. To make it my own, I decided to try homemade biscuits and homemade whipped cream. Both very easy to do and bring this dessert to a whole new level. This recipe makes about 6 biscuits (5 if you want them slightly larger) and enough whipped cream to generously top 6 shortcakes.

Here's what you need:

Biscuits

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1/2C Buttermilk
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 oz cold unsalted butter
• coarse sugar (for topping)

Whipped cream

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½  teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberries - When it comes to the strawberries, a lot of recipes will instruct you to add sugar or lemon to the strawberries - I chose to keep them 100% natural. I simply mash them in a small bowl so the juices come out and keep all the delicious strawberry taste just as it is! I used about 2 cups of fresh strawberries for 6 shortcakes.

Here's how you do it:

Biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In food processor, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
3. Add in the butter and pulse several times until the mixture is crumbly.
4. Mix in buttermilk and then drop batter onto baking sheet in 6 clumps. Sprinkle with sugar (optional).
5. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Whipped cream

1. Place heavy cream in stand mixer and mix on medium until soft peak begins to form.
2. Mix in sugar slowly, and then add in vanilla and mix until combined. Feel free to taste test and add more or less sugar/vanilla as desired!

Put it all together: Slice biscuits in half to create a bottom and top. Layer bottom half whipped cream and then mashed strawberries. Place remaining half on top and then dollop with more whipped cream and drizzle with strawberries. Quantities of whipped cream and strawberries are up to the creator’s preference!