Sunday, May 3, 2009

Strawberry Shortcakes (SMS)


This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Wendy of Pink Stripes: Strawberry Shortcakes. There is nothing that I love more when it comes to strawberries than strawberry shortcakes. To say that I was looking forward to trying this recipe is an understatement.



The recipe is simple and straightforward with the typical 3 strawberry shortcake components: the strawberries, the shortcakes, and the whipped cream. The strawberries are sliced and then sweetened with sugar. The whipped cream is just that - whipped cream; nothing fancy. The shortcakes are basically sweet biscuit dough, with a little lemon zest to add more flavor. The key to making good shortcakes is handling the dough as little as possible. Overworking the dough will yield very flat, not very flaky shortcakes. If you don't have a pastry cutter, use two butter knives to cut the butter in to the dough.



I had no issues with my dough rising, though the shortcakes did not spread quite as much as I thought they would. Melissa said to place them on the baking sheet at least two inches apart, so I was expecting them to spread quite a bit! Instead, they just rose to become nice, flaky shortcakes!



These strawberry shortcakes were delicious! The perfect spring and summertime treat! The biscuit dough is sweet, but not too sweet. Paired with strawberries and whipped cream, it is perfect. I love that the shortcakes require only a few minutes of prep time, and then a few more minutes in the oven. It's the perfect last minute dessert if you have some unexpected guests coming over.



Thanks Wendy, for choosing this recipe - I loved it! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the SMS Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this scrumptious dessert.

* Recipe tips:
- Be careful with your shortcake dough - handle it as little as possible. Also make sure your butter is very cold before cutting it in. This will ensure your biscuits rise well and are perfectly flaky.
- Start your strawberries as the shortcakes go into the oven. By the time they're done baking and cooling, you'll be ready to go.
- The shortcakes are best eaten the day they are made, but they can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting.

- For more tips, click here.


27 comments:

  1. Your cakes look great, love the photos. Thanks for the overworking tips, I am afraid that's what happened to me. But they tasted so good, I will try again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Perfect Jaime! Just perfectly crumbly looking and scrumptious.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As usual, your photos are stunning! I love how all of your strawberries look like little hearts. I think I might have overworked by dough, but they still tasted delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love strawberry shortcake and your pictures are amazing! What a perfect dish for spring :) I just stumbled upon your blog and I'm really enjoying it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes - I was surprised at how quickly I was able to make these. A sweet biscuit, that's how I'll think of them from now on!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These were really good, weren't they? Yours look amazing! I can't wait to make them again :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is in my top five of favorite desserts! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  8. OOH Looks beautiful! That last close up pic has me drooling big time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great looking shortcake. Im glad you liked it! I really enjoyed this recipe and loved the lemon zest1

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gorgeous photos, your shortcakes look delicious. I agree that this is a perfect last-minute dessert.

    ReplyDelete
  11. These pictures are beautiful - the strawberries are just gorgeous. You have me craving strawberry shortcakes now!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Goodness your shortcakes look de-licious! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  13. i knew that i loved strawberry shortcake, but i didn't realize just how much i loved it til i saw your beautiful photos. now i'm craving it like nobody's business. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your pictures make me want more shortcakes now! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Looks beautiful and delicous.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your shortcakes look amazing. Thanks for baking along with me this week!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mmmmm, I've been enjoying all the photos of this shortcake recipe! Your photos in particular are wonderful. You can see clearly the juiciness of the strawberries, YUM!
    ~ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your shortcakes turned out great!! I agree. They're a breeze to make.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh, mmm... I can't take any more pictures of the strawberries with the cream- it's killing me! Looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great photos...the strawberries look like little hearts on white puffy clouds. I bet it tastes even better than it looks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, please don't do this to me!!! I love strawberry shortcake!

    ReplyDelete
  22. This sounds so amazing! Perhaps my love of Strawberry Short Cake stems back to my childhood days and playing with the doll. :) Thanks for sharing a great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Such a nice take on a classic. Gotta try this before strawberries disappear from the shelves.

    ReplyDelete
  24. m craving for this amazing strawberry cake.. look sooo yummy and fabulous. the photos are stunning :) keep it up!! cheerrs!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. This looks wonderful. I love strawberry shortcake with real biscuits. The pictures are great!

    ReplyDelete