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Even inexperienced bakers can take advantage of strawberry season by making simple shortcakes. |
By JACKIE BURRELl
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Baking can be intimidating the first time out, particularly when the cookbook weighs 20 pounds or the ingredient list requires a glossary or a passport.
You just wanted to bake a cake.
"I say this to all beginning bakers: Just go in there and do it," said Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef for San Francisco's award-winning Farallon restaurant. "It's kind of like jumping into a pool of water. You can't dabble your toes. You have to jump."
The jump is all the easier now that spring has finally turned to lush strawberry season. Leave the souffles and vacherin to more experienced bakers. Instead, bake some buttery, crumbly shortcakes.
"You have all these beautiful strawberries coming in," said Luchetti. "Gear it around fresh fruit. Then if your thing doesn't turn out, you can just serve more of the fruit, and less of the thing--or more of the cream. And if it really doesn't turn out, you can always serve the fruit and the cream."
But they'll turn out. Shortcakes always do.
These fruit-filled desserts have been popular since the 1850s, when the short strawberry season was eagerly anticipated and even more enthusiastically celebrated at the family dinner table or at Victorian-era "Strawberry Regales."
Shortcakes and other strawberry delights--ice creams, sherbets and strawberry whips--are painstakingly described in Nellie Mustain's 1902 book, "Popular Amusements for In and Out of Doors." The lavish Victorian berry fest was considered quite the thing, although 21st-century celebrants may wish to omit the profusion of garden flowers and intricate strawberry vine decorations.
But the little cakes are simple enough for children or novice bakers to tackle, and they require no special equipment. Flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and grated lemon zest--the yellow part of the lemon rind--are combined with cold butter, crumbled in until it's evenly distributed. Heavy cream binds the ingredients into a soft, pliable dough. And if you don't have a biscuit cutter, you can use the rim of a glass or a clean, empty can to cut the dough.
Homely shortcakes taste just as good as pretty ones, and anyway, the cream and berries hide any imperfections. (Of course, it took us three batches to produce a "ready for close-up" shortcake, but that was partly because our helpers kept helping themselves. "Ooo, this one's, mmmph, perfect," they said. "So's, mmmmph, this one. Pass the cream.")
If you're really nervous, said Luchetti, do a dry run a few nights before. And follow the directions. A recipe is not like the instruction manual you ignore when you buy a TiVo or a coffee maker.
"A lot of people don't like following instructions," said Luchetti. "But they're there to give you guidance. Don't wing it. You can wing it the 10th time you make it, not the first time."
If it's still too intimidating, said Diablo Valley College executive pastry chef Chris Draa, take something store-bought to the next level by drizzling a frozen cheesecake, for example, with melted chocolate or pureed raspberries or mangos.
The same goes for ice cream. Luchetti's just-published "A Passion for Ice Cream" includes recipes for homemade ice creams to drizzle with sauce or sandwich between fresh cookies. But last-minute dessert makers can simply grab a high-quality vanilla from the supermarket and add pizzazz.
Warm sliced strawberries in a pan on the stove, said Luchetti. Add a splash of orange juice, a dash of lemon and a little butter, and heat 'til it's just warmed through.
"Pour it over the vanilla ice cream," she said, "and that's a perfect recipe right there."
It's going to be okay. You can do this.
Shortcakes 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 21/2 teaspoons baking powder Grated zest of one lemon 6 tablespoons sugar, divided 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cubed 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream Makes 6-8 cakes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (foil works, too). Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, lemon zest and, depending Using two knives, a pastry cutter or a mixer with the paddle attachment, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of small peas. Slowly add 1 cup cream, mixing until the dough just comes together. (Mix it too much and the pastry will not be as tender.) Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll or pat it into a 11/2-inch thick layer of dough. Cut the dough into 21/2-inch diameter rounds using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass. (Dip the cutter into flour to keep it from sticking.) Place on prepared baking pan, 2 inches apart. Brush the tops of the shortcakes with cream, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden. These are best served warm. If made ahead, reheat the shortcakes in a 300-degree Split warm shortcakes in half, horizontally, and fill with sliced, fresh strawberries and gently whipped cream. Replace the top, and dust with powdered sugar. Nutritional information per serving: 450 calories, 5 g protein, 46 g carbohydrates, 27 g fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 610 mg sodium, 1 g fiber. Calories from fat: 56 percent. Recipe from: Emily Luchetti, "A Passion for Dessert" |
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Variations For the filling, toss raspberries and sliced strawberries with sugar and a splash of Grand Marnier. Let rest at room temperature for half an hour before filling the shortcakes. Puree ripe strawberries with a little lemon juice and sugar to taste. Toss sliced berries in a few spoonfuls of sauce before filling the shortcakes. Use the rest of the sauce to garnish the plates. Garnish shortcakes with a sprig Heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in 5 ounces of white or dark chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth. Fill the shortcake with ice cream and sliced berries, and offer guests a choice of strawberry or chocolate sauces. Or skip the shortcake and serve the sauces over ice cream. |
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Whipping it "I always use cream that's half-whipped instead of all-theway whipped because it adds a creaminess to the dessert that all-the-way- whipped cream doesn't. It just makes it taste smoother. Whipped cream should always just be whipped until it has a soft dollop to it. That's good whipped cream. If you overwhip cream, then it makes the cream taste dry and the overall dessert taste dry, too, which is sacrilege. So it's just not worth the calories at that point." --Emily Luchetti, pastry chef, Farrallon restaurant, |
