strawberry shortcake

Sally McKenney’s strawberry shortcake layers juicy sweetened strawberries and soft whipped cream inside lightly sweetened biscuits. The biscuits have a crisp surface and a crumbly interior rather than the height of her regular biscuit recipe.

Quartered strawberries are stirred with a portion of granulated sugar and refrigerated while the biscuits are made. Heavy cream is later whipped with another sugar portion and vanilla to soft-to-medium peaks.

Cold unsalted butter is cut into flour, biscuit sugar, baking powder, baking soda and fine sea salt. Buttermilk brings the crumbs together before the dough is flattened and folded to form layers.

Rounds are cut from the dough, with scraps gathered for more biscuits. This selected lined-tray version brushes their tops with heavy cream and coarse sugar before baking until golden.

The biscuits cool briefly, then split and receive strawberries and whipped cream between their halves. McKenney suggests either warm or fully cooled biscuits with the cold fruit and cream, leaving contrasting textures at the heart of the assembled dessert.