Do you remember strawberry shortcake?

I was out for dinner over the weekend with friends and we begun talking about antics we got up to as a child, interests back then etc etc. This led to nostalgia about toys we used to play with compared to our children now, action man, Barbie, Poppets, Care Bears, he man, she ra, Thundercats and a blast from the past indeed .. Strawberry Shortcake.

Now I know l was not the oldest one at the table but only a few of us remembered this doll. Do you remember her? A little doll with a big hat and strawberry dress. She also smelt of strawberries. She was one of my favourite toys to play with.

From talking about the strawberry shortcake doll this inspired me to make some strawberry shortcakes. Now depending who you talk to there is a preference for a cake base over a biscuit base (bit like the cream or jam first on a scone) me personally l prefer a biscuit base, I like the crumbliness of it.

So here we are.. with help from my strawberry eating children l had enough strawberries to make this afternoon delight...

With spring just around the corner this a delightful treat to enjoy with your afternoon tea.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

Prep time: 30 minutes                   Cook time: 20 minutes                        Makes: 9 shortcakes

Ingredients

For the shortcake

250g of Plain flour

140g of  Butter- cut into cubes

30g of Cornflour

25g of Granulated sugar and extra to sprinkle

180ml of Milk

1 tbsp of Baking powder

1 tsp of Salt

1/2 tsp of Bicarbonate of soda

For the strawberries

2 Punnets of strawberries - chopped into thick and and thin slices (8 spare for decoration)

25g of Granulated sugar

For the cream

300ml of Whipped cream

2 tbsp of Icing Sugar

Equipment

2 Mixing bowls

Electric whisk

Fork

Spatula

Serrated knife

Greaseproof paper

2 baking trays

Jug

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Line the baking trays with the greaseproof paper.

3. In the mixing bowl place the flour, cornflour, sugar, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and whisk together using the fork.

4. Add the butter to the flour mixture and using your fingers rub together to make a breadcrumb texture.

5. Make a hole in the middle of the flour mixture and slowly pour in the milk.

6. Use the spatula to fold the ingredients together to form a dough. The dough will be sticky.

7. Using your hands roll the dough into 9 balls and place on the baking trays. TIP! The balls do not need to be perfect.

8. Sprinkle the tops of the dough balls with spare granulated sugar and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

9. In the other mixing bowl place the 25g granulated sugar and add the cut strawberries. Using the fork mix the strawberries around in the sugar and leave.

10. Once the shortcakes are baked leave them to cool completely on the trays and begin to make the whipped cream.

11. In the jug pour the whipping cream and add the icing sugar. Using the electric whisk on a low setting, whisk until soft peaks are formed. TIP! Be careful to not over whisk the cream.

12. Once the shortcakes are cooled, cut them in half lengthways using a serrated knife. Place both halves on a plate and spoon the cream onto both sides. On the bottom half add a generous amount of strawberries and place the other half back on top. Place a little cream on the top and add one of the saved strawberries for decoration on the cream.

13. Serve immediately.

14. Enjoy!.