Recipes & Tips:
Straw Berry Shortcake

June 24, 2009 Written by Kat Odell

ydt Farmer’s Market: Delicious, local strawberry shortcake from Tracy Hepler on Vimeo.

ydt Farmer’s Market: Delicious, local strawberry shortcake from Your Daily Thread on Vimeo.

On my most recent trip back home, I spent part of my time in East Hampton. I was psyched that it was still strawberry picking season so I took a trip down memory lane and hit up the patches. The strawberries were just as delicious as I remembered, and as I picked, I thought about what to make with all the luscious fresh berries.

I decided upon a simple version of strawberry shortcake that involved my grandmother’s strawberry jam recipe, some homemade biscuits, and some double clotted cream. The jam recipe can be applied to any fruit, one may just have to alter the amount of sugar based on taste. This strawberry jam perfumes up the kitchen and tastes like the most heavenly strawberry concoction. Here are my recipes.

Babi’s Strawberry Jam
2 quarts strawberries
1/3 cup sugar (or more to taste)

Wash and remove stems from strawberries. Place in medium pot and add desired amount of sugar. Simmer on medium low for about an hour until strawberries have softened and liquid has reduced to jam-like consistency. Set aside.

Biscuits (Makes 6)
2 cups all purpose flour
2.5 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a baking pan. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add to bowl. Using hands, mix together until coarse meal forms. Add milk and mix. Form dough into 6 balls and place on baking sheet. Brush with heavy cream. Bake 20 minute until biscuits are lightly brown. Let cool and slice in half.