Franco American Shortcake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Chill a medium-size bowl and a whisk or whisk attachment or rotary blades of an electric mixer (for whipping the cream).
• Slice the berries and place them in a large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons sugar and set aside.
• In a large bowl or the food processor combine both flours with the salt, baking powder, and 1/4 cup of the sugar and mix well. Add the butter and process or cut into the flour until it is ranges in size from coarse cornmeal to the size of a pea.
• Add the 2 cups of heavy cream all at once and mix until the dough gathers together but doesn't completely adhere. Turn it out onto a well-floured surface, dust it lightly with flour and press it down with a rolling pin until it is rectangular in shape and about 1/2-inch thick. Fold it in thirds like a business letter and turn it one quarter turn. Lightly flour and gently press it out again until it is an even rectangle about 1/2-inch thick, fold it in thirds and turn it another quarter turn.
• Cut the dough in half, horizontally. Lightly flour half and roll it into a very even rectangle measuring about 6 x 12 inches. Cut it in half, crosswise, then cut an x through each half to give 8 triangular pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1/4-inch between them, and sprinkle them with the remaining sugar. Bake in the center of the oven until the shortcakes are pale golden and puffed, about 15 minutes. Slide the shortcakes off the baking sheets and cool on wire racks.
• Whisk the vanilla into the creme fraiche.
• To serve, place a shortcake in the center of a plate. Top with berries and a dollop of creme fraiche.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a baking sheet.
• 2. Sift the flour, baking powder and 4 tablespoons sugar into a bowl. Add the butter, using fingers to work it quickly into the flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the cream and yolks; stir with a fork until the dough just holds together.
• 3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is just smooth. Do not overwork. Roll the dough out 3/4-inch thick. Using a floured 2 1/2- or 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out 4 rounds. Gather the scraps, reroll; cut 2 more rounds.
• 4. Put the 6 rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and firm to the touch.
• 5. For the filling, mix berries and sugar in a bowl. Chill.
• 6. Cool the biscuits on a rack; carefully split them in half. Heap the bottoms with strawberries. Dollop with the whipped cream, then replace the biscuit tops. Serve immediately with remaining whipped cream on the side.

Steps:

• For the shortcakes, use first 8 ingredients: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a food processor, mix the flour, 5 teaspoons of sugar, the baking powder, and salt until combined (about 3 pulses) then add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal (about 15 pulses).
• Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Whisk the half-and-half and the whole egg together then mix into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. The recipe indicates that using regular milk is ok but not as rich as the half-and-half and that using heavy cream makes the cakes too dense.
• Turn the mixture onto a floured board and shape the dough into two circles about 2-1/2 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick.
• Brush the tops with the egg white. Then sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar.
• Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, turning the pan halfway through cooking.
• Cool on wire wrack.
• For the fruit use the next 2 ingredients: Crush 3/4 cup (about 3.75 ounces) of the strawberries with a potato masher in a medium bowl. Slice the remaining strawberries and fold them into the crushed berries, along with the sugar. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
• For the whipped cream use the last 3 ingredients:.
• Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium spead until frothy -- about 1 minute. Then turn to high and whip to soft peaks, 1-3 minutes. Of course, store bought whipped cream will work, too.
• To serve: Slice the shortcake horizontally. Place some of the strawberries on the bottom half, put a dollop or two of whipped cream on the strawberries and top with the other half of the short cake.

Steps:

• Sift Flour and icing sugar into a medium bowl, cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl.
• mix and kneed well until mixture is quite smooth,.
• Add the egg yoke and two tablespoons of the cream - blend well.
• cover the dough with waxed paper and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Pre heat oven to 190c (375f). divide the dough into two equal parts and roll out each piece to about a 9 inch circle .
• A hint here is to roll it out between two pieces of greaseproof paper, no sticking and when its ready peel off the paper and turn upside down on baking tray and peel of the other paper.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown,.
• transfer one round, carefully to a cooling rack - and the other you cut immediately its out of the oven into slices - 10-10 slices and transfer the slices on another rack to completely cool.
• Hull and cut the strawberries in halves or thirds. beat the cream until its thick enough to stand on its own but still able to stir it.
• Fold the strawberries into the cream. Spoon mixture onto the centre of the shortbread - forming a pyramid, and place the slices around the piled up cream -- Simply serve.
• This can be prepared the day before and covered in cling film and kept at room temperature.