The key to luscious strawberry shortcake is of course ripe strawberries, plus freshly baked shortcakes. Thank goodness these classic shortcakes are a breeze to mix and bake. Simple little jewels, always a hit for summer dessert or a special treat for Mom.
I adore Strawberry Shortcake and this recipe hits it out of park for me. In my early cooking days I was baking shortcakes that were a bit dry, I think I was using the classic baking mix.
I came acoss this little jewel in one of my fashion magazines, tore it out and it made it’s way into the Bijouxs Little Jewels recipe collection, with a few changes along the way.
Yes, there really is a Bijouxs Little Jewel recipe collection! A large file box that spans over 40 years of cooking with hundred of recipes, scrippled on scraps of paper, recipe note cards from friends, and lots of ‘tear sheets. Think of the collection as ‘Pinterest in print’.
OLD-FASHIONED STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
I knew nothing about the origin of the dessert, the back of Bisquick box was all I knew of shortcake. So, I decided to take a look at the recipe’s roots. Back as far as 1862, Strawberry Shortcake had made it way into the American dessert scene. By the post-Civil War America, strawberry shortcake was the all rage from the country to the chicest New York eateries. The recipe was included in Jennie June’s American Cookbook by Jane Cunningham Croly (New York, 1866). Image here from the 1866 cookbook.
Shortcakes are at their very best served warm from the oven. To accomplish this, prep the strawberries and whipped an hour or two ahead-also make ready the sifted ingredients for the shortcakes. Then, mix together the shortcake dough and bake just prior to serving–there really is nothing like warm shortcakes topped with strawberries berries and cream.
This recipe is from Volume 2 From the Garden, now available in print. Order here.
Happy Mother’s Day from Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen.
As always, enjoy. B
