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A serving of Strawberry Shortcake on a clear plate with a fork and napkin
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Strawberry Shortcake

Fresh, local strawberries need very little to become a spectacular dessert, so I kept thing simple for this strawberry shortcake. I used my son's signature scone recipe for the "shortcake" and it worked perfectly.
Author: Zoë François

Ingredients

"Shortcake" (Scone) Dough

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup buttermilk maybe a little more
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 4 tbsp melted butter for brushing the tops
  • 1/2 cup sugar for sprinkling the tops

Strawberries

  • 2 pints fresh strawberries sliced
  • 1/4 cup sugar more if your strawberries are very tart, or less if they are sweet
  • 1/4 cup sweet white wine I used a bottle of riesling from Sofia by Francis Coppola
  • 3 tbsp chopped herbs I used basil, lemon verbena and mint

For Topping

  • 1 pint whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Do this right before serving.

Instructions

"Shortcake" Scones

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • Add the butter and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender, until it resembles cornmeal. You actually want some of the flour to resemble cornmeal, once it is cut with the butter, but you also want to keep some of the butter in pea sized pieces, which will create the flakiness in your scones.
  • Add one cup of buttermilk and zest, gently stir it with a spoon, just to moisten the flour. It is ok if some of the flour is still powdery, but if it seems like there are big bunches of dry ingredients still in the bowl, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.
  • Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to do the gentle kneading. You are really just turning the dough over on itself, using a bench scraper is very handy to get this done without over working the dough. Turn the dough 12 times. Divide the dough in half.
  • Roll the dough into a log that is 2-inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 24 pieces. they will be small, and you will use two per serving.
  • Spread them out on two pans. Brush the top generously with butter and sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.
  • Toss strawberries with the sugar, wine and herbs. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. If they sit for any longer they should be refrigerated.
  • Whip the cream just before serving and assemble the strawberry shortcake. Serve immediately.