All well-behaved strawberries deserve to be embraced by sweet, fluffy shortcake. Here's how to make that happen.
The key to a perfectly tender, fluffy shortcake is sitting in your fridge right now, and it might surprise you. The secret comes to us courtesy of James Beard — you know, just the father of American cooking, NBD — who learned it from his mother: hard-boiled egg yolks.
It might sound weird, but crumbly cooked yolk adds just enough richness without weighing down or gumming up the works. This also means the dough is more forgiving, so you don't need to worry that you'll overwork it.
Yes, there's one extra step (boiling a few eggs), but it's worth it. Plus, you get a healthy pre-shortcake egg white snack out of it. So what are you waiting for? Put the kettle on!
First things first: Get the best strawberries you can find.
And here's everything else you'll need:
For the shortcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
2 hard-boiled egg yolks, pushed through a small mesh sieve (see our favorite way to hard-cook eggs)
3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the strawberry filling:
3 pints fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and halved or quartered, depending on size
2 tablespoons sugar
For the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
To start the shortcakes: Make it rain!
Add the chilled butter pieces.
Work the butter in with your hands.
Here's where the secret ingredient comes into play.
Gently push the egg yolks through a mesh sieve.
And finally the cream. Now you're ready to mix.
Gently toss with a fork until the dough just comes together.
Next, get your dough into shape.
Use a floured biscuit cutter or glass to cut those shorties out.
After 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees, you'll have these:
While they cool, macerate your strawberries.
And whip cream. Cream is non-negotiable.
Assemble, like so.
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