In the height of strawberry season each year, we just can’t help ourselves: We’re buying up pints of ruby-red berries faster than we can eat them. If your fridge is host to an abundance of strawberries, too, we’ve got two incredibly delicious versions of summer’s most quintessential dessert for you to try!
Strawberry shortcake is one of those dishes that is a chameleon: It can be beautifully simple and rustic, or elegant and complex. Just a few little tweaks of ingredients and techniques can coax out entirely different experiences from essentially the same components. In the two recipes in this video, we’ve shown you both: the PA Dutch version, with crumbled pieces of shortcake (extra pie crust or pound cake could work, too) topped with strawberries in their own syrup, then doused with cold milk and topped with whipped cream. Soaking a dessert with milk might sound strange, but it’s actually exceedingly satisfying. Traditionally, PA Dutch strawberry shortcake was served as an easy supper on days where it was too hot to cook – wouldn’t that be a fun surprise for the kids one stifling summer evening? Dessert for dinner!
The other method is a modern twist with strawberries tossed in aged balsamic vinegar, honey and black pepper, then roasted to rich, silky perfection. (If you’ve got plenty of berries on hand, make a double batch and save some to add to a spinach salad with goat cheese!) In this application, buttermilk biscuits form the base, and creamy whipped mascarpone ties the whole thing together.
Both recipes have their specific delights: Try both before strawberries are out of season, and let us know which one is your favorite!
Check out the video for the technique, then head here and here to find the full recipes!
- Video and photo: Dish Works
