Strawberry Shortcake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I should be ashamed to admit it, but this homely, pedestrian dessert is one of my personal favorites. In fairness to myself, I must tell you that this is not the shortcake of childhood memory. The base of this dessert is a berry laced cream scone that is topped with fruit that's been macerated in orange liqueur and then covered with a small scoop of soft ice cream. The ice cream I make comes from a recipe developed by David Liebovitz and you can see that recipe here. I make the ice cream to his specifications just before serving to keep it soft. If you don't want to make ice cream, you can achieve a similar affect by placing a commercial ice cream in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. You can also replace the ice cream with whipped cream. Most of you are familiar with my recipe for cream scones. I've altered it slightly to use for shortcake, adding a bit of almond extract and strawberries to the original recipe. In order to finish the shortcakes, I top them with additional berries, a drizzle of warm strawberry jam and a top hat of whipped cream. This really is a lovely recipe. I hope you will enjoy it.

Strawberry Shortcake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Strawberries
4 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup granulated Sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur
Whipped Cream 1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Shortcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, divided use
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced strawberries
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
Ice Cream
2 small scoops per serving

Directions:
1) To make strawberries: Wash, drain and slice strawberries. Sprinkle with sugar and toss to coat. Sprinkle with orange liqueur and lightly toss again. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2) To make whipped cream: Combine ingredients in stainless steel bowl. Whip to stiff peaks. Refrigerate.
3) To make shortcakes: Combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking power, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Stir in strawberries. Add heavy cream and almond extract and stir by hand just until dough forms. Dough will be soft and sticky. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until dough just holds together. Press dough into a 8 to 9-inch circle, 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 3-inch rounds. Place scones on baking sheet and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees or until scones are a light golden brown on top.
4) To serve: Cut shortbread in half horizontally, separating top from bottom half. Place bottom half of biscuit in a medium bowl. Cover biscuit bottom with 1/2 cup of strawberry mixture. Place two small scoops of vanilla ice cream in center of biscuit bottom. Place remaining biscuit half on top of ice cream. Spoon additional berry mixture over biscuit top to moisten it. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.








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