Strawberry Shortcakes

You may remember my attempt at making biscuits when the results looked slightly freakish.
Yes, these were supposed to the perfectly shaped cookies but as we know not everything in life turns out to be the way we think it might.


But this time, to avoid a certain amount of unpredictability I have been choosing my ingredients and recipe with more care. I have used Loseley Summer Meadow Butter before and I was seriously impressed by its great taste.
Therefore, I will be glad to give it another go. I also like the texture as it can be rather annoying to faff about with hard butter. Not that it is a problem during the summer though.

What summer also brings  are all these lovely soft fruits and he has hinted that we might go blackberry picking this week-end. Now, this is bliss. In the meantime I intend to bake these perfectly formed shortcakes and I will be very disappointed if they don't turn out anything like this picture.


 STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES

20 minutes preparation time plus chilling and cooling
20 minutes cooking time
Ingredients:
Loseley Summer Meadow Butter 225g (8oz), softened
Caster sugar 110g (4 oz)
Plain Flour 300g (11 oz)
Ground Almonds 50g (2 oz)
Small strawberries 225g (8 oz)
Whipping Cream 300ml (1/2 pint)
Strawberry jam 2 tbsp, soft-set (if you use other fruits, match the jam)
Caster Sugar for dusting

Method:
1. Firstly make the shortcakes. Cream together the Loseley Summer Meadow Butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the flour, salt and ground almonds until the mixture clings together to form a dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth.

2. Lightly press and roll the dough to flatten it to a thickness of 6mm (¼ inch) and, using a 7.5cm (3in) round cutter, stamp out as many shapes as you can. Re-roll the dough and continue stamping out shapes until all the dough is used up. You should end up with about 20 circles.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the shortcake circles on the sheet. Prick with a fork and chill for 40 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ 350˚F/ Gas 4 and bake the shortcake biscuits for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.

5. To finish, wash the strawberries and hull and slice them. Whisk the cream into soft peaks, and then spoon onto half the shortcake biscuits. Top with a few strawberry slices and drizzle of jam. Add a small dollop of cream and then sandwich a plain shortcake on top. Dust very lightly with sugar and serve immediately.
Makes 10 shortcakes
Biscuits are suitable for freezing
Suitable for vegetarians

This post is sponsored by Loseley Summer Meadow Butter
Loseley Summer Meadow Butter is packed in a 250g tub and costs £1.29p. retailed in independent grocers, Morrisons and Waitrose.

5 comments:

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Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Choclette said...

Mmmm, having just said brownies are my favourite, strawberry shortbakes have got to be up there with the best.

Solange Berchemin of Pebble Soup said...

Dear Choclette, I'll let you into a secret, I have never baked brownies :) though I love them too.
thanks for dropping by

si

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