Strawberry Shortcake a la Treebeard's

PanNan's Note:

This recipe was shared by Treebeard's Restaurant in Houston. It's not difficult to make, looks beautiful and tastes out of this world! Prep time includes chilling time.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Shortcake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar , divided
• ¾ cup milk

Filling

• 1 quart ripe strawberry , washed,hulled and sliced
• 1⁄3; cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees; grease a cookie sheet.
2. To make Shortcake, with knife blade attachment on food processor, process flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, butter and 2 teaspoons granulated sugar until mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Pour mixture into medium bowl.
4. With wooden spoon of paddle attachment on electric mixer, add milk and mix just until it forms a smooth dough.
5. Scoop dough onto cookie sheet in 6 equal mounds.
6. Dust top of shortcakes with remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar.
7. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Remove from oven; transfer to wire rack and cool.
9. To make Filling, in a medium bowl, mash one-half of berries.
10. Mix with granulated sugar and vanilla.
11. Refrigerate 1 hour.
12. To make Whipped Cream, in a chilled mixing bowl, beat cream with confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla until it just holds soft peaks.
13. Add sour cream; beat until stiff peaks form.
14. Cut off tops of shortcakes; set aside.
15. Spoon Filling onto bottom of each shortcake.
16. Cover with Whipped Cream and remaining sliced strawberries; replace tops.
17. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, a strawberry half and a sprig of mint.

Reviews

[I<3butter!]

These were awesome shortcakes! The only changes I made were to sub Greek yogurt for the sour cream and to use a little extra vanilla in the cakes and the whipped cream. I also cut the calories somewhat by subbing Splenda for all the granulated sugar. Keep an eye on these in the oven after 10 minutes; the bottoms brown much faster than the tops. I also thought this was a huge portion of shortcake. I also prefer my shortcake almost soggy with sauce so next time I will make 12 smaller cakes and more filling/ whipped cream. I also think subbing a strawberry balsamic reduction for the filling would be amazing.

[ransomhouse]

This has great taste, but I think the cooking time is off. I baked my cakes at 450 for 15 mins and the edges were too dark for my taste. Will be making this again, but will bake a little less or turn down the oven.

[Bev]

PanNan, this recipe was so much fun to make! Your directions were simple to follow and I had excellent results! From the shortcake to the whipped cream, every bite was a taste treat! This shortacke has a nice sweetness to it that other shortcakes seem to miss. The strawberry filling w/ the added vanilla extract was sensational! The whipping cream with the added, not only confectioner's sugar, but also sour cream was incredible! This is a dessert that would definitely be considered "Company Worthy" in my book! Thank you so much PanNan, for bringing this wonderful recipe to Zaar!