Weekend Recap

This weekend was great. Not too much scheduled, a little R&R and some errands made for a very calm weekend.

I didn’t end up doing any baking over the weekend, but I just had to share what I made for Father’s Day weekend back in June. I needed a dessert that would travel well and could work for Father’s Day brunch with one side of the family and dinner with the other side.

I ended up making strawberry shortcake adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe. I used farmer’s market strawberries which were just bursting with juice. I also made the biscuits smaller than the original recipe called for and served in a buffet style so that everyone could decide how many they wanted (and could load up on whipped cream). They were delicious!!

Strawberry Shortcake adapted from Bon Appetit

INGREDIENTS
SHORTCAKES
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, beaten to blend
BERRIES AND ASSEMBLY
2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled, quartered (about 4 cups), divided
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
5 sprigs basil
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

SHORTCAKES
Preheat oven to 400°. Whisk sugar, baking powder, salt, and 2 cups flour in a large bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work in butter until the texture of coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Add cream and mix until dough just comes together (it will be sticky).

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 12×4” rectangle about ¾” thick. Cut out rounds with a 1” biscuit cutter (or other size if you prefer), re-rolling scraps as needed to make rounds. Whisk egg with 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush tops with egg wash (I forgot to do this! WHOOPS). Bake until tops are golden brown and shortcakes are cooked through, 10-15 minutes (or longer depending on size of biscuits.
DO AHEAD: Shortcakes can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

BERRIES AND ASSEMBLY
Coarsely chop 3 cups strawberries (use any bruised or less perfect ones) and cook with 4 Tbsp. sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are softened and mixture is slightly thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Let berry compote cool.

Meanwhile, muddle basil and 1 Tbsp. sugar together, then toss with remaining 1 cup strawberries in a medium bowl and let sit until fruit begins to release juices, 15–20 minutes. Discard basil.
Using an electric mixer, beat cream, vanilla extract and remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar to soft to medium peaks, about 4 minutes.

To serve, top shortcakes with berry compote, whipped cream mixture, and macerated strawberries.