Strawberry Shortcakes (Nigella + Joy of Baking)

After reading about my Strawberry Bread, Katong Gal had suggested that I try Nigella's Strawberry Shortcakes (from HTBADG).  I confess that I've read that recipe several times and lingered over the beautiful picture of the strawberry shortcakes, but never felt inclined to try it because it is one of those recipes where Nigella tells you quite vaguely that you "may not need all of the eggy cream to make the dough come together, so go cautiously."

I have a problem with inexact instructions when it comes to baking (see my first attempt at baking Nigella's Essential White Loaf).  Unlike with other types of cooking, one needs precise instructions when baking, especially when it comes to pastry or bread, or the product could turn out poorly.  And, when Nigella writes that the dough must "come together" or she warns you to "go cautiously", and red lights go flashing in my head. I think, "recipe for disaster!"

Getting ready to go into the oven.

So why did I finally decide to attempt this recipe? Because the Joy of Baking (JOB) website has a video on how to make strawberry shortcakes. So, I could observe how my dough was supposed to look like.  YouTube is a God-send.  I think we can learn quite a lot from recipe books.  However, nothing beats having a personal demonstration.  YouTube isn't exactly a personal demonstration class, but it helps you see what you're supposed to be making, in the comfort of your home.  This cuts down on some of the uncertainty when you base your cooking purely on recipes.

While the recipe I used is largely Nigella's, I followed the method demonstrated in the JOB video.  Strawberry Shortcakes, for those of you who have never had one before (and this included me), are essentially strawberry and cream scone sandwiches.  So first you have to make the scone, then prepare the strawberry filling, then assemble it with cream.

I wasn't expecting them to rise so much.

I started with the strawberry filling first, as JOB recommends allowing the strawberries to mascerate for about 30 - 60 minutes.  The scone was next.  Nigella recommends grating the frozen butter in the flour, which I thought was a neat trick.  However, the problem in this hot climate is that the butter gets all soft and gooey when it sits in the flour anyway.  So I ended up cutting the grated butter into the flour with two knives (as suggested by JOB).

Overall, it was not as hard as I had thought it would be, though at points I did feel a bit tense, wondering if I had overworked the dough.  I didn't have to worry as the scones turned out beautifully light and fluffy.

Strawberries and cream.

I did have a problem with the cream filling, though.  All I had to do was to whip the cream to soft peaks. But I think the heat and humidity made it incredibly hard to achieve the right balance.  In my first attempt, the cream split.  In my second attempt, the cream was too liquid.  In my third attempt, the cream stayed in peaks for a couple of minutes, but slowly dissolved into a soggy mess.

Scone split, ready to be assembled.

Finally, I decided to whip my cream in parts (which is what JOB recommended): whipping it till it thickened, but not yet forming peaks, then refrigerating it (and the whisk), allowing it to harden somewhat, before whipping it to soft peaks.  But if you leave the strawberry shortcakes out for too long in this weather, the cream will liquefy again.  So I assembled my shortcakes to order, and ignored the advice to eat them warm.

Prepped and ready to be enjoyed!

I am glad I made this.  They are really gorgeous.  I had some problems figuring out how to eat them though.  Do you take the two halves apart?  Or do you eat it like a sandwich, which is not quite possible unless you have a huge mouth?  My sons licked the filling off, then started on the scones (oreo-style).  The mascerated strawberries are lovely and sweet, making it a perfect filling for the scones.  I would make this again, just for the scones.  My sons loved the scones so much, they were quite happy to eat them without the strawberries and cream.  In the end, I was left with quite a bit of strawberry filling and cream to be used with pancakes.

Lily's Scones

I bought a new baking board, and with friends coming over for bible study, I thought that it was finally time to make some proper scones. Nigella has just this one scone recipe in the Domestic Goddess, which she describes as "the best scones I've ever eaten". But she would say that wouldn't she? Anyway, my previous attempts at scones weren't too successful, so I was hopeful this time round.

Apart from the usual suspects of flour, butter and milk, the ingredients also included shortening, cream of tartar (which, according to Nigella, gives the appearance of cellulite, but which also gives them a "dreamy lightness") and salt.

First you rub in the fats with the dry ingredients. Then you pour in the milk, mix briefly before turning it out to knead. The hard part I found was kneading the dough, especially since the mixture is very sticky. Your hands will get really icky but bear with it and you will soon be able to roll out the dough and stamp out the scones with a cutter. I managed to form 15 pieces (the recipe says it makes 12), but I think it was because I rolled the dough out a bit thinner than the recipe called for. Then you egg-wash it before you put it into the oven.

These take 10 mins to cook. And are lovely. They are firm on the outside, and really soft and light on the inside. Wonderful on its own or with some jam and cream. They are the best scones I've made. Though I think, because of the salt and shortening and the lack of sugar, they taste more like Biscuits (a la the American South), than scones. Frankly, these remind me more of my Alabama days than my England days. In particular, the Blue Plate Cafe (Memphis, TN) and the Loveless Cafe (Nashville, TN), where I had some of the best biscuits ever. Until I tasted their biscuits, I was not a fan of biscuits. Then, I was made a convert. I prefer my scones sweet, so I will continue to look out for a good scone recipe. But I will definitely do Lily's scones again, coz they're the closest thing to Blue Plate and Loveless I've got in Singapore!