The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (344 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

While some folks like to spoon strawberries over pound cake, sponge cake, and even angel food cake, our idea of strawberry shortcake definitely involves a biscuit. We wanted a juicy strawberry filling and mounds of freshly whipped cream sandwiched in between a lightly sweetened, tender biscuit. While eggs are not traditional, we found that a single egg gave our biscuits a light, tender texture. And we used just enough dairy (half-and-half or milk) to bind the dough together. A modest amount of sugar yielded slightly sweet biscuits. For the strawberries, we wanted to avoid both a mushy puree and dry chunks of fruit. We found our solution in a compromise—mashing a portion of the berries and slicing the rest for a chunky, juicy mixture that didn’t slide off the biscuits. And freshly whipped cream provided a cool, creamy contrast to the berries and biscuits.

See “MASHING STRAWBERRIES FOR SHORTCAKES” illustration that follows recipe.

SERVES 6

Preparing the fruit first gives it time to release its juices.

FRUIT

BISCUITS

WHIPPED CREAM

1. FOR THE FRUIT:
Crush 3 cups strawberries in large bowl with potato masher. Slice remaining 5 cups berries. Stir sliced berries and sugar into crushed berries. Set aside until sugar has dissolved and berries are juicy, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

2. FOR THE BISCUITS:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined. Scatter butter pieces over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. Transfer mixture to large bowl.

3.
Whisk half-and-half and whole egg together in bowl, then stir into flour mixture until large clumps form. Turn out onto lightly floured counter and knead lightly until dough comes together (do not overwork dough).

4.
Pat dough into 9 by 6-inch rectangle, about ³⁄
₄
inch thick. Using floured 2³⁄
₄
-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 6 dough rounds. Arrange biscuits on prepared sheet, spaced about 1¹⁄
₂
inches apart. Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (Unbaked biscuits can be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.)

5.
Bake until biscuits are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and let biscuits cool, about 10 minutes. (Cooled biscuits can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. Before assembling, reheat in 350-degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes.)

6. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes.

7.
To assemble, split each biscuit in half and place bottoms on individual plates. Spoon portion of berries over each bottom, dollop with whipped cream, and cap with biscuit tops. Serve immediately.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Making peach shortcake with supermarket peaches often produces a flavorless filling over a dry, crumbly biscuit. We wanted to develop a foolproof recipe for peach shortcake that would work with either farm stand or supermarket peaches. Macerating fruit in sugar is the traditional method employed to pull out the fruit’s juices when it comes to strawberry shortcake, but for peaches, this step alone isn’t enough. To ensure juicy shortcakes, we first sliced the peaches very thin to maximize the surface that would come in contact with the sugar. Then we microwaved a few of the peaches with peach schnapps until they were tender, mashing these cooked peaches to create a peach jam to give our shortcakes the moisture and sweetness we were after. Finally, while we liked a classic buttermilk biscuit for the shortcake, we needed to add an egg and mechanically develop more gluten (by vigorous stirring) to make a cake that would hold up under the weight of the fruit. Freshly whipped cream topped off this summer classic.

SERVES 6

This recipe works well with any peaches, regardless of quality. If your peaches are firm, you should be able to peel them with a sharp vegetable peeler. If they are too soft to withstand the pressure of a peeler, you’ll need to blanch them in a pot of simmering water for 15 seconds and then shock them in a bowl of ice water before peeling. You can substitute ¹⁄
₂
cup low-fat yogurt mixed with 3 tablespoons of milk for the buttermilk, if desired. Orange juice or orange liqueur can be used in place of the peach schnapps.

FRUIT

BISCUITS

WHIPPED CREAM

1. FOR THE FRUIT:
Gently toss three-quarters of peaches with 4 tablespoons sugar in large bowl. Let sit 30 minutes. Toss remaining peaches with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and schnapps in medium bowl. Microwave until peaches are bubbling, about 1 to 1¹⁄
₂
minutes, stirring twice. Using potato masher, crush peaches into coarse pulp. Let sit 30 minutes.

2. FOR THE BISCUITS:
Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and egg together in bowl; add melted butter and stir until butter forms small clumps.

3.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until dough comes together and no dry flour remains. Continue to stir vigorously for 30 seconds. Using greased ¹⁄
₃
-cup measure, portion dough onto prepared baking sheet to create 6 biscuits, spaced about 1¹⁄
₂
inches apart. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over top of biscuits. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and let cool, about 15 minutes. (Cooled biscuits can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. Reheat in 350-degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes before assembling.)

4. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes.

5.
To assemble, split each biscuit in half and place bottoms on individual plates. Spoon portion of crushed peach mixture over each bottom, followed by peach slices and juices. Dollop each shortcake with 2 tablespoons whipped cream, cap with biscuit tops, and dollop with remaining whipped cream. Serve immediately.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

This traditional British fruit dessert is typically made by folding pureed stewed fruit (usually gooseberries) into sweet custard. Modern fool recipes skip the custard and use whipped cream. But whipped cream blunts the fruit flavor and is too light and insubstantial. We wanted a dessert with intense fruitiness and rich body—and we wanted to use strawberries and raspberries rather than gooseberries. Our first challenge was to thicken the fruit properly; unlike gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries are low in pectin. We turned to gelatin to thicken our berries, softened the gelatin in some uncooked berry puree, and then combined the softened mixture with some heated puree to help melt and distribute the gelatin. Now we had a smooth, thickened puree with intense fruit flavor. When it came to the custard, we liked the ease of using whipped cream; when we combined it with sour cream, we had a mixture that was airy yet substantial, with a rich and slightly tangy flavor. For even more fruit flavor, we layered the fruit puree and cream base with fresh berries that had been macerated in sugar. Finally, topping the dessert with crumbled sweet wheat crackers added a pleasant, nutty contrast.