Orange Flavored Shortcakes

In time for local strawberries, after trying several shortcake recipes, I've found one that will complement strawberries and whipped cream perfectly. In fact, these are so good, they stand alone, delicious enough for afternoon tea on the porch or the fire escape. If you need bypass surgery, this would be the wrong choice for dessert.  They're loaded with butter and heavy cream.  For serving, you'll whip cream (no sugar necessary) and slice fresh local berries.  When peaches come into season, slice and sugar them and voila! This recipe comes via one of the best food blogs you can read, Smitten Kitchen (you can click on my link), combined with her referenced recipe by Russ Parsons of the LA Times. If you omit the sugar and orange zest, you have a perfect cream biscuit for dinner. Parsons suggests that you can makes these into scones by throwing in nuts and dried fruit of your preference.  

You can buy coarse sugar at Dean and Deluca, 

Fairway or any candy making department of a hobby store.  

Orange Flavored Shortcakes

adapted from Russ Parsons and Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I use unbleached)

3 Tbsp. sugar (2 1/2-5, depending upon how sweet you want your cakes. I use 5 because I like them sweet and because I don't sweeten the whipped cream or berries.)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. grated orange zest (1 large orange - be careful not to include the white pith)

6 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes (6-8, depending upon how buttery you want you cakes.  I use 8 because I can never have enough butter.)

2 hard-boiled egg yolks

3/4 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing (try to find heavy cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized.  it will whip up better.)

Coarse sugar for dusting (granulated sugar may be substituted)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375º F.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest. 

Add the cold, cubed butter and the egg yolks and pulse together just until the mixture has the texture of moistened cornmeal.  You want there to be pieces of butter in the mixture about the size of peas.

Pour 3/4 cold heavy cream over the mixture and pulse 3 to 4 times, just until the dough is moistened.  It will not be a cohesive mass (that sounds gross) and you don't want it to be, or the shortcakes will be more like hard tack.  

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently, just until you can pat it into a roughly round 6 to 7 inch circle.  Cut, with a very sharp knife (this is important, otherwise the sliced edges will 'glue' down and you won't have an evenly risen shortcake) into six wedges.  Brush tops lightly with heavy cream and sprinkle lightly with coarse sugar.

Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake until risen and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn the pan around halfway through to ensure even baking.  

Remove to a cooling rack.

For strawberries and assembly:

3 pints strawberries*, washed, hulled and quartered

2 Tbsp. sugar (optional)

1 Tbsp. orange juice

1 c. heavy cream, beaten to soft peaks (It is not necessary to sweeten the whipped cream. If you must, use confectioner's (10X) sugar, adding 1 tsp. at a time, to only slightly sweeten the cream.  The cream is a fat foil, a rounding out of the natural acid of the berry - it's a supporting role.)  The star of this show is the berry.

If the strawberries are very firm (and tart), toss them in sugar and juice about a half an hour before assembling the dessert. Don't refrigerate the berries unless you're holding them for a while.  They taste better at room temperature. 

With a sharp knife, split the shortcakes in half horizontally and set the tops aside.  Place the bottoms on dessert plates and heap strawberries over them  Spoon whipped cream generously over the berries and replace the shortcake tops. Serve immediately with any remaining whipped cream on the side.  

I have the nutritional details.  If you want the horrible news, write to me.  I'll send it to you.