This iconic dessert is traditionally enjoyed in the summertime, although I enjoy it year-round.
You can eliminate a few of the ingredients seen below to simplify things, such as the Gran Marnier and lemon zest found in all three of the dessert’s subcomponents…but who would really want to do that?
Strawberry Shortcake with Homemade Whipped Cream
This iconic dessert is traditionally enjoyed in the summertime, although I enjoy it year-round. You can eliminate a few of the ingredients seen below to simplify things, such as the Gran Marnier and lemon zest found in all three of the dessert’s subcomponents…but who would really want to do that?
Ingredients
For the Shortcake:
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tsp baking powder
- 7 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into medium dice, kept cold
- Zest of 1.5 lemons
- 1.25 cups heavy cream
- 6 Tbsp salted butter, melted, for spreading on shortcakes before and after they bake
- 1 Tbsp Gran Marnier, for drizzling over shortcakes after they bake
For the Homemade Whipped Cream:
- 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream, kept cold
- 1.5 Tbsp white granulated sugar
- Zest of ¼ lemon
- 1 tsp Gran Marnier
For the Additional Dessert Components:
- 1 overflowing quart of fresh strawberries, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 3 mint leaves, cut into fine slices
- 2 basil leaves, cut into fine slices
- Zest of ½ lemon
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp Gran Marnier
Instructions
For the Shortcake:
- Preheat oven to 430F.
- Sift together the white granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the diced cold butter to the dry ingredients, and use your fingers to press the dry flour and sugar mixture into the small pieces of butter.
- Continue to use your fingers to push together the butter and flour until you have arrived at a craggy, dough-like consistency.
- Add the heavy cream and begin to knead the mixture in the bowl until somewhat incorporated.
- Place the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead for an additional 2 minutes, until an incorporated and fairly uniform dough has formed.
- Use a rolling pin or empty wine bottle to roll the dough out onto the floured surface.
- Roll the dough out until it reaches a uniform thickness of roughly 5/8”.
- Use a biscuit cutter or metal cookie cutter to cut out uniform circles from the shortcake.
- Place onto a greased piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and brush the tops with half of your melted salted butter.
- Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until the shortcakes are golden-brown in color and have risen.
- Remove from oven and brush the bottoms and tops with the remaining melted butter.
- Drizzle 1 Tbsp Gran Marnier over the tops of the shortcakes, if desired.
For the Homemade Whipped Cream:
- Combine the 1.5 cups cold heavy whipping cream with the 1.5 Tbsp white granulated sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
- Whisk using an electric mixer or hand mixer until the cream has almost reached your desired final whipped cream consistency.
- During the last 10 seconds of mixing, incorporate the lemon zest and Gran Marnier until incorporated.
- Store homemade whipped cream in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Additional Dessert Components:
- Clean your strawberries and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Mash 1/3 of the berries up using a fork.
- Combine mashed berries with the chopped berries and add the white granulated sugar, the sliced mint, the sliced basil, the lemon zest, the ¼ tsp kosher salt, and the Gran Marnier and allow to sit for 45 minutes.
- When you are ready to serve dessert, serve the macerated strawberries mixture over the shortcakes, and top with a large dollop of homemade whipped cream.
Notes
For an alcohol-free version, simply omit the Gran Marnier.