Strawberry Shortcake...

 I've had this recipe for years.  I believe it came from Country Living magazine.  Originally I made a 3 layer shortcake but it was very hard to cut so I now make individual cakes for each person.  I would make this for the teachers at the daughters elementary school for teacher appreciation week so it must have been from the mid eighties.

Many people use a sponge or butter cake to make Strawberry Shortcake
but this recipe is for a true shortcake.

The term "short" refers to the crisp texture of a pastry made with a generous amount of shortening. European cooks were making shortcakes long before the colonization of America.  When the first settlers discovered the wealth of berries in their new home, they soon put them between rich shortcake layers.

4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of butter cut into chunks

1 large egg
1 cup of milk

1 cup of heavy cream
3 tablespoon of confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 cups of strawberries, washed, drained and sliced in half

Fresh mint (optional)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and all but 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Add chunks of butter.  With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles crumbs.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.

3.Thoroughly blend egg into milk. Pour egg mixture into well.  Stir with a fork until combined.

4. Separate the dough into 8 pieces, drop onto a cookie sheet and press into rounds.  Sprinkle with the reserved sugar.  Bake until edges are golden and center is firm, about  8-10 minutes.  Cool on rack.

5. In a large chilled bowl, whip heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and vanilla until stiff.

Put some whipped cream on the shortcake, add berries, and garnish with mint if desired.

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