Before I begin cooking, I get all my tools and ingredients ready:
You’ll need 1 plastic bowl (berries), 1 metal bowl (heavy cream), “trash” bowl; two tiny bowls (for granulated sugar and lemon zest) and finally a microwave safe container for melting your butter. Don’t forget your cutting board and a knife (or paper plates and plastic knives for young chefs). You’ll also want to have your hand mixer, a silicone cooking brush, microplane grater; a big spoon and a cookie sheet.
Typically, I use the off-the-top of my head recipe (below) for strawberry shortcake. You may want to half it or double it depending on your family size or whether you have guests or not.
Two green baskets of strawberries; rinsed and sliced (or hacked depending on the age of child helping you.)
A can of biscuits (I’ve used the flaky and the regular; both work great)
2 C Heavy Whipping Cream (I always buy the largest container, because I like to have it on hand)
1/3 C of granulated sugar (this is used to sweeten the berries a tad, and to sprinkle over the raw biscuits)
A couple “squeezes” of honey (directly into the bowl of berries)
A tab of melted butter (a tab is usually 1 TBS)
1/4 C Powdered Sugar
1/2 a lemon (for the juice into the strawberries, and the zest into the heavy cream)
Let's get cookin'!
Preheat your oven according to your biscuit container. Microwave your tab of butter until it’s melted. Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and, use your silicone cooking brush to dampen the tops of your biscuits with the melted butter. Sprinkle a little sugar over each biscuit. When your oven is ready, pop them in and follow the rest of your particular container’s baking instructions. Place your metal bowl in the freezer. I find that the colder the bowl and cream are, the better results.
Next, you’ll want to slice your strawberries and store in the plastic bowl. Add 1/3 of your tiny bowl of granulated sugar. Squeeze your half lemon directly into the bowl. If you didn’t pop the seeds into the trash first, hold your spare hand over the strawberries and squeeze juice into your hand (letting it run out, but leaving the seeds); Rachel Ray suggests holding the lemon upside down and squeezing it that way. Finally, put a little honey into the berries, set bowl aside for dessert assembly. Use
Now it’s time to remove your metal bowl, pour your heavy whipping cream into it and begin mixing on medium speed. Have your powdered sugar and lemon zest near you (because I never turn the mixer off, until the cream is whipped cream). I slowly add powdered sugar and am constantly tasting to get the correct sweetness (I prefer mine just a little sweetened); add the lemon zest before your cream begins to get too thick. Here’s the thing with making your own whipped cream: You can over mix it and then it’s like putting a solid food in your mouth (instead of fluffy white goodness). The best test is to stick your finger in it and taste it (your checking the sweetness and the thickness at the same time). You do not want the whipped cream to be runny, you do want it to keep its shape; but not so thick that it’s awkward to eat. A final warning: I don’t recommend making this the day before.
Assembly time: Remove yours biscuits and place them on their own plate. Use your big spoon and drop about two spoonfuls of strawberries over the biscuits. Top the berries with your homemade whipped cream. Finally, enjoy your dessert!
