Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
These little shortcakes are as cute as they are tasty. You can have all the components ready, then just assemble when ready to serve.
Fun to serve at parties, picnics and cook outs. Because these are small, they work well with other desserts on larger dessert trays.
I made the shortcake base with a scone recipe, and used a small ice cream scoop to put the batter on the baking sheet. They ended up looking like little sandwich buns.
I split them, and filled with sweetened strawberries. I replaced the top and added chocolate ganache and whipping cream to finish them off.
The scone is tender and not too sweet. Satisfying and light at the same time.
Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
The shortcakes
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
½ t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 1/4 c. heavy cream or 1 cup half and half
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients and gradually add cream to form soft dough. Stir mixture until it just holds together. Using an ice cream scoop place batter on baking sheet a couple of inches apart. You should get about a dozen. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Makes about 12. Cool on rack until ready to use.
The berries
2 lbs. strawberries, sliced thin
1/2 c. sugar, or to taste
Combine berries and sugar in medium bowl and place in fridge until ready to use. Berries should be in the sugar for at least a couple of hours and can even be prepped a day ahead to allow the juices to come out of the berries.
The ganache
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips or 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream.
Combine both in double boiler or in microwave and heat until mixture is just warm enough to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth.
The whipped cream – use whipped cream, sweetened or unsweetened according to your taste.
Assembly: Slice the caps off the tops of the shortcakes. Place a generous spoonful of the sliced berries on the bottoms of the shortcakes and spoon some of the strawberry liquid over them as well. Place the tops of the shortcakes back on and spoon on a dollop of the chocolate ganache. I let me get to room temperature so it didn’t drip down exactly as I had planned. Top with some whipped cream and serve. Makes about 12.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
This is a great dessert for a party, picnic or barbecue. Instead of making a bunch of individual shortcakes, make one really big one. It makes quite an impression.
We made this recipe in class last night. It came out beautiful!!
When ready to serve it, just cut into slices, like cake or pie. I often serve this shortcake with ice cream on the side. Feel free to switch up which fruits you use. I used kiwi fruit with the strawberries, but you can add different fruits. Peaches would go well with the strawberries or blueberries. Just have fun and use fruit combinations you like.
For Memorial Day or the 4th of July, you could use a combination of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/2 t. lemon juice
2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 stick cold butter plus 1 T. softened
1/2 c. plus 1 T. sugar
1 qt. strawberries, sliced thin
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 c. chopped nuts, toasted, I left the nuts whole
whipped cream, optional
In small bowl combine egg, milk and lemon juice and set aside. In larger bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and baking powder. Cut in cold butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add egg mixture and stir until mixture forms into a soft dough. Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface about 10 times. On greased baking sheet pat dough into a 15×6-inch oval. Sprinkle dough with the 1 tablespoon of sugar and dot with the softened butter. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Place on wire rack to cool. Toss the berries with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Allow to stand 30 minutes. Split the shortcake lengthwise and remove the top. Spoon over the half the berries and replace top of shortcake. Combine the kiwi with the remaining berries.Spoon over the remaining fruit and sprinkle with the nuts. Dot with whipped cream, if desired. Cut in wedges to serve. Serves 8.
Note: you can bake shortcake day ahead and prep the fruit day ahead, keeping it chilled and just assemble when ready to serve.
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
Sometimes new recipes just sort of happen. I was finally having a few friends over for dinner. I was pondering dessert- I do that a lot these days- ponder.
I remembered a package of ladyfingers that I originally got to make tiramisu. I worried they might be getting stale. I hate to waste food. I opened up one of the packages and ate one. It was fine. Nice and crisp.
I want to just say something about ladyfingers. There are two types I see in stores around here, soft or crisp. The soft ones are smaller and cake-like and found in bakeries in grocery stores. Like sponge cake. The other ladyfingers are crisp and larger. I find them at Italian stores and sometimes at specialty grocery stores. The ladyfingers you want for this recipe are the larger, crisp ladyfingers.
I had fresh strawberries and decided to combine them with the ladyfingers to make a sort of shortcake. Made sense to me. I pondered a little longer about what other ingredients to add. I wanted the cookies to soften, but not to get mushy. I knew the strawberries, when combined with sugar, would create juice. The decision to add pudding was for extra richness.
Then I thought about what else to include. Chocolate seemed like a nice flavor choice. I had a jar of hazelnut spread. (That is my way of not using the brand name Nutella.) Just in case you didn’t know what I was talking about. I had a fresh jar- 13 oz. -and used about half a jar in the dessert. I could have added more, but I was still happy with the pop of flavor the spread added. If you make this dessert- feel free to add as much spread as you like.
I was happy with how it came out. The ladyfingers were soft, not mushy. They actually were kind of fluffy. The flavors blended so nicely. Great summer dessert. Light and refreshing, but kind of rich, too.
One friend said she almost expected me to top the shortcake with blueberries as I added the whipped cream topping. She thought that would make a nice addition for the 4th of July. I agree. You could easily combine blueberries with strawberries, cherries or raspberries.
Once I was serving dessert, another friend asked there were bananas in it. I hadn’t. This recipe would be lovely made with sliced bananas, or other fruits. Peaches would work well, too.
Finally, the name. I decided to call it a shortcake-trifle. One of my friends- they are a chatty group- said she thought it was a trifle. When I looked at it, I could see why she thought that. So call it what you like- shortcake, trifle, shortcake-trifle- or just dessert. No matter what you call it, I assure you, your friends and family are going to love it. As an added bonus, it is pretty simple to make, with a minimal amount of cooking. Even less if you opt to use pre-made pudding.
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!!
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
1½ – 2 pounds strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
½ c. sugar
24 ladyfingers
1 recipe vanilla pudding- recipe follows
¾ c. Hazelnut chocolate spread
Whipped cream or whipped topping
Combine strawberries with the sugar and set aside. Make the pudding, if you haven’t already. You can use premade pudding. You’ll need 2-3 cups of pudding. I had some leftover from the recipe I made. In a 9×9-inch baking dish, place one layer of the cookies. You might have to trim them a little to fit. I had 2 rows of 6 cookies, but I had to break off a little for the second row to fit. Spoon over half of the strawberries, with some of the liquid in the bowl. Spread a layer of pudding over the berries. For the next layer, spread some of the hazelnut spread over each lady finger before putting it in the pan. When you put them in the pan, place them with the spread on the under side. Add another layer of the pudding, then top with the rest of the strawberries. Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve. You can do all this up to 2 days ahead. Before serving, remove cover and top with whipped cream or any whipped topping you like. Serves 6-8.
Vanilla Pudding
1 c. sugar
½ c. cornstarch
½ t. salt
3 ¾ c. half and half
1 T. vanilla- or a little more
2 T. butter
Combine dry ingredients in a medium saucepan. Whisk in half and half and vanilla until well mixed. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble and get thickened. Mixture will get pretty thick. Turn down heat to keep it from scorching. As soon as pudding is thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted. Place pudding in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. Makes about 4 cups.
Strawberry Ice Cream Cake Roll
This is the perfect summer dessert. Fresh berries, a light, citrus-scented cake and ice cream. What more could you want?
When you say cake roll, I think a lot of people first think of a pumpkin roll or Buche de Noel (yule log). There are so many more desserts you can make with them. Cake rolls can be made in many flavors and they can be filled with custard, frosting, fruit, ice cream and more.
For this sponge cake roll, I used homemade strawberry ice cream to fill it, recipe follows. You could use store bought ice cream, if you prefer.
Start with the sponge cake roll recipe below, and use whatever flavor ice cream you like. You’ll need about a quart of ice cream- or a little more.
Once finished, you just wrap it up and pop the cake in the freezer until needed. Great to have on hand for summer parties and cook outs. You can decorate with fresh berries when serving. Blueberries would make this a fun red, white and blue dessert for Memorial Day or the 4th of July.
Sponge Cake Roll
This sponge cake roll can be filled with whipped cream or ice cream, or use your favorite filling.
5 eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2/3 cup cake flour*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons melted butter
Beat egg yolks until thicken and lemon colored; gradually add 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Beat egg whites until almost stiff then gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold yolk mixture into whites. Sift dry ingredients into a separate container; add to egg mixture, folding in carefully. Fold in melted butter. Pour batter into waxed paper-lined 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Turn onto a clean kitchen towel which has been generously dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Trim edges, if necessary; roll cake up, towel and all, while still warm. Let cool completely. Unroll and fill with whipped cream or ice cream then re-roll cake. The trick is to let the ice cream soften up a few minutes before spreading it on the cake. But don’t wait too long. Rather than trying to let the ice cream get soft enough to spread I used a spatula to sort of cut slices of ice cream and place them on the cake. Store ice cream cake roll in freezer until ready to slice and serve.
*If you don’t have cake flour you can make your own. Measure out a cup of all purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour and replace them with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. For larger amounts place 7 cups of flour in a bowl and combine with 1 cup of cornstarch. Mix well or even sift together. Store in an airtight container.
Strawberry Ice Cream
2 c. chopped strawberries
1 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. cream or half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.
Additional sugar to taste
Place strawberries, vanilla and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen the ice cream will not taste as sweet so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste, and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an air- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.
Strawberry Ice Cream
It is strawberry season around here, and I am loving it. Since the weather is warming up, I decided to make ice cream with some of the berries. Homemade ice cream is easy to make. When you make your own, you can adjust flavorings and sweetness level, too.
Studded with plenty of berries, this ice cream will put anything store-bought to shame. Feel free to add blueberries or raspberries, too. Sometimes I add other flavors, like lavender or mint.
Strawberry Ice Cream
2 c. chopped strawberries
1 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. cream or half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.
Additional sugar to taste
Place strawberries, vanilla and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen, the ice cream will not taste as sweet, so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an air- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.
Strawberry Sorbet
If you are looking for a versatile dessert, sorbets are a great option. Almost any fruit can be used, and you can sweeten, or not, to suit your own taste. If you start with frozen fruit, you can blend up your sorbet and serve it right away. Even better, if you can process and freeze it a couple of times.
You can play around with adding other flavors. I sometimes add fresh herbs, like mint or lavender. Extracts can be added, too.
Sorbets can be served on their own, with cake, or drizzled with chocolate sauce. I sometimes add a scoop of sorbet to a glass of lemonade or ice tea on a hot day. So refreshing. Sorbet can be a fun topper in cocktails, too. I sometimes combine a couple of fruits in one sorbet.
You can make the sorbet in an ice cream machine, if you have one, but you don’t need to. I don’t. It really is simple. As an added bonus, once your sorbet is made, you have it on hand whenever you need a dessert. The secret is to blend the sorbet a couple of times after it is frozen, if you can. Each time, the sorbet gets smoother and creamier. I use my food processor.
So here is the recipe for my strawberry sorbet. You can substitute any number of different fruits.
Strawberry Sorbet
1 1/2 lbs strawberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 c. sugar, or to taste – you could also sweeten with honey, if you prefer, or use no sweetener
1 T. lime or lemon juice
Wash and stem berries. Place in food processor with juice and blend until smooth. Sweeten to taste, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Place in a container with a lid and freeze. Once frozen, remove strawberry mix from freezer and sit it on the counter to soften a little bit. This is really the important part. You don’t want it to thaw, but you do want it soft just enough to break into chunks. Place chunks in food processor and blend it again. It will actually start to look a little creamy and lighter in color. You can serve it right away- or put it back in the freezer to serve later. At this point the sorbet is ready- but you can repeat the soften/process step once more, if you like, for even creamier sorbet. Makes 3-4 cups.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a recipe for mini strawberry shortcakes. Now, we go to the other extreme. One giant shortcake.
Seriously, it is a fun way to make shortcake. You could make one for any special occasion or party.
This is a great dessert for a party, picnic or barbecue. Instead of making a bunch of individual shortcakes, make one really big one. It makes quite an impression.
When ready to serve it, just cut into slices, like cake or pie. I often serve this shortcake with ice cream on the side. Feel free to switch up which fruits you use. I used kiwi fruit with the strawberries, but you can add different fruits. Peaches would go well with the strawberries or blueberries. Just have fun and use fruit combinations you like. For the 4th of July, you could use a combination of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/2 t. lemon juice
2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 stick cold butter plus 1 T. softened
1/2 c. plus 1 T. sugar
1 qt. strawberries, sliced thin
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 c. chopped nuts, toasted
whipped cream, optional
In small bowl combine egg, milk and lemon juice and set aside. In larger bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and baking powder. Cut in cold butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add egg mixture and stir until mixture forms into a soft dough. Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface about 10 times. On greased baking sheet pat dough into a 15×6-inch oval. Sprinkle dough with the 1 tablespoon of sugar and dot with the softened butter. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Place on wire rack to cool. Toss the berries with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Allow to stand 30 minutes. Split the shortcake lengthwise and remove the top. Spoon over the half the berries and replace top of shortcake. Combine the kiwi with the remaining berries.Spoon over the remaining fruit and sprinkle with the nuts. Dot with whipped cream, if desired. Cut in wedges to serve. Serves 8.
Note: you can bake shortcake day ahead and prep the fruit day ahead, keeping it chilled and just assemble when ready to serve.
Strawberry Cheesy Chocolate Pie
This pie has it all. Fresh strawberries, glazed and sitting on a flaky crust. But it doesn’t stop there. The crust is topped with chocolate and a layer of sweetened cream cheese. The chocolate and cheese are under the berries. They provide a wonderful surprise when eating the pie. Like a strawberry cheesecake, with chocolate!!!
The chocolate is such a natural match for the strawberries. The cream cheese gives a little “cheesecake” feel. In the end, the combination works perfectly together.
During strawberry season, I enjoy so many different dishes made with fresh berries. Fresh strawberry pie is always going to be a favorite. I try to make different versions and this one was definitely a version I will make again.
Strawberry Cheesy Chocolate Pie
1 (9-inch) pie crust * recipe follows
1 c. chocolate chips
1 T. butter
1 qt. strawberries (1¼ lbs.), hulled
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ c. water
1 T. butter
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. powdered sugar
Whipped cream, optional
Using a pie pan, roll out your crust and fit it into the pan- trim off any excess. Pre-bake your crust. To do this: The prepared pie crust should be pricked all over with a fork. Cover the surface with foil and then pie weights. I use dry beans for my pie weights. Pre-heat oven to 400-degrees. Bake crust for 15-20 minutes. Check to be sure it doesn’t get too brown. Remove weights and foil. Melt chocolate chips and butter together, stirring until smooth. Pour over crust and use a spatula to spread into a thin layer on the bottom and, if you like, up the sides of the crust. Set aside and allow crust to cool and chocolate to set up. Select about 25-30 berries to be placed in pie crust, large side down, and set aside. You might need fewer berries, if they are really big. Puree or crush remaining berries. Place in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and stir until smooth. Add to the strawberry mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and gets clear. Simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Set aside. Place cream cheese in a bowl and beat in the powdered sugar. Spread cheese over the chocolate layer. Arrange the reserved berries on the cheese layer, pointy side up. Put the largest berry in the middle and arrange the rest around it decoratively. Spoon the puree over the berries and allow the pie to cool down a little before putting in the fridge. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Note: other berries can also be used including raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, or a combination. This recipe can also be used as a filling for tarts and tartlets.
Half and Half Dough*
This is a great crust for liquid fillings like custard type pies and fresh fruit pies.
¼ c. butter, room temp
½ c. shortening, room temp- you can use lard instead, or chilled coconut oil
¼ c. sugar
½ t. salt
2½ c. pastry or all purpose flour
1/8 t. baking powder
¼ c. milk
1 t. lemon juice
Cream together the first 4 ingredients until smooth. Mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Combine milk with the juice and set aside. Stir ½ c. of the flour into butter mixture. Stir until smooth. Add a little of the milk, stirring until smooth. Add remaining ingredients alternately until finished. Dough will firm up once chilled. Chill at least 4 hours before using. Makes 2 crusts. You only need half the dough for the strawberry pie.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
When I was a kid, there was a local restaurant known for its fresh strawberry pie. It became a favorite of mine back then, and strawberry pie is still a favorite. This pie is always a big hit. A flaky crust and a whole lot of fresh strawberries, topped with a glaze, is a winning combination.
A nice benefit, over most other pies, is that only the crust has to be baked- that takes just a few minutes- so you don’t need the oven on for very long and the house stays cooler. I used a homemade crust that really works for this particular pie. Directions for blind baking (pre-baking) the crust are included below, along with the recipe for the crust I used.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
1 (9-inch) pie crust, baked and cooled -recipe follows*
1 qt strawberries (1¼ lbs), hulled
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ c. water
1 T. butter
4 oz. cream cheese
Whipped cream, optional
Select about 25-30 berries to be placed in pie crust, large side down and set aside. Puree or crush remaining berries. Place in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and stir until smooth. Add to the strawberry mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and gets clear. Simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Set aside. Place cream cheese in a small bowl and mash with about a tablespoonful of the puree. Spread on the crust and arrange the reserved berries on the crust pointy side up. Put the largest berry in the middle and arrange the rest around it decoratively. Spoon the puree over the berries and allow the pie to cool down a little before putting in the fridge. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Note: other berries can also be used including raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, or a combination. This recipe can also be used as a filling for tarts and tartlets.
*What is blind baking?
Some recipes call for pre-baking the crust. Sometimes this is because the filling is either un-baked, like a fresh strawberry pie or very moist, like custard pie. Blind baking is placing foil on an un-baked crust and then weighing it down. Then the crust is baked either a little, or until done depending on what the recipe calls for. The weights, often dry beans or rice keep the crust from getting air bubbles in it when it bakes. >^..^<
How to blind bake (pre-bake) a pie crust
The prepared pie crust should be pricked all over with a fork. Cover the surface with foil and then pie weights. Pre-heat oven to 425-degrees. For a crust that is only being partially baked allow 15-20 minutes, but remove before the outer edges get brown. If the crust is to be fully baked remove it after 15-20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and return crust to oven for an additional 20 minutes, but watch carefully so it doesn’t over-brown.
Half and Half Dough**
This is a great crust for liquid fillings like custard type pies and fresh fruit pies.
¼ c. butter, room temp
½ c. shortening, room temp- you can use lard or chilled coconut oil instead
¼ c. sugar
½ t. salt
2½ c. pastry or all purpose flour
1/8 t. baking powder
¼ c. milk
1 t. lemon juice
Cream together the first 4 ingredients until smooth. Mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Combine milk with the juice and set aside. Stir ½ c. of the flour into butter mixture. Stir until smooth. Add a little of the milk, stirring until smooth. Add remaining ingredients alternately until finished. Dough will firm up once chilled. Chill at least 4 hours before using. Makes 2 crusts.
** this recipe makes 2 crusts- which makes me think you should just make 2 pies. If you don’t want to do that- the other half of the dough will freeze well for a few months. Seriously though, just make 2 pies!!!
Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
These little shortcakes are as cute as they are tasty. You can have all the components ready, then just assemble when ready to serve.
Fun to serve at parties, picnics and cook outs. Because these are small, they work well with other desserts on larger dessert trays.
I made the shortcake base with a scone recipe, and used a small ice cream scoop to put the batter on the baking sheet. They ended up looking like little sandwich buns.
I split them, and filled with sweetened strawberries. I replaced the top and added chocolate ganache and whipping cream to finish them off.
The scone is tender and not too sweet. Satisfying and light at the same time.
Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
The shortcakes
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
½ t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 1/4 c. heavy cream or 1 cup half and half
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients and gradually add cream to form soft dough. Stir mixture until it just holds together. Using an ice cream scoop place batter on baking sheet a couple of inches apart. You should get about a dozen. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Makes about 12. Cool on rack until ready to use.
The berries
2 lbs. strawberries, sliced thin
1/2 c. sugar, or to taste
Combine berries and sugar in medium bowl and place in fridge until ready to use. Berries should be in the sugar for at least a couple of hours and can even be prepped a day ahead to allow the juices to come out of the berries.
The ganache
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips or 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream.
Combine both in double boiler or in microwave and heat until mixture is just warm enough to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth.
The whipped cream – use whipped cream, sweetened or unsweetened according to your taste.
Assembly: Slice the caps off the tops of the shortcakes. Place a generous spoonful of the sliced berries on the bottoms of the shortcakes and spoon some of the strawberry liquid over them as well. Place the tops of the shortcakes back on and spoon on a dollop of the chocolate ganache. I let me get to room temperature so it didn’t drip down exactly as I had planned. Top with some whipped cream and serve. Makes about 12.
