Strawberry Shortcake

For the biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ Tablespoon baking soda

¾ teaspoons salt

12 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 ½ cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops of biscuits before baking

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 3 T sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your hands (run them under cold water and dry them first). Alternatively, you can pulse in a food processor with a steel blade. The consistency should be that of cornmeal. You will see pieces of butter.

Combine the cream and the vanilla extract. I like to use a large measuring cup for this as you will make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the cream mixture into that well.

Mix with a fork until just combined. The dough will look “shaggy” and appear a bit dry. Gently knead the dough 5-6 times to pick up all the bits of dry ingredients in the bowl and make it more uniformly moistened.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and pat it into an 8” square, about 1-inch thick. Transfer to a silpat-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. After the dough has chilled for at least 30 minutes, cut the dough square into 9 even squares (I like to use a bench/dough scraper) and move them 2-inches apart on the baking sheet. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake approximately 18 minutes until golden. Do not let the bottoms get dark.

Prepare the strawberries

Wash and dry the berries on a paper towel. Cut and put into a large bowl with 1 Tablespoon sugar. Toss lightly and let sit on the counter for 30 minutes - 2 hours. They will be very juicy!

Lemon Pavlovas

5 Pretend Pavlovas

The great thing about this recipe is that it can look bespoke, but be composed almost entirely of store-bought ingredients.

5-6 meringue cookies from a bakery (Trader Joe’s regularly carries them, too)

Lemon curd, 1 jar (in the jam section or British import section of the grocery)

½ pint whipping cream, 8 ozs

2 T baker’s sugar

⅓ cup creme fraiche

Berries of choice (I used raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)

Edible flowers (carried online or in finer markets’ produce section) MUST BE PESTICIDE FREE AND EDIBLE. CHECK ONLINE IF IN DOUBT.

Use individual footed dessert dishes, if possible.

Gently crush the meringue cookies with a rolling pin, making sure to leave pieces that are the size of chocolate chips. There will also be smaller pieces that will be more like a powder. You can use those, too, to sprinkle on top at the end.

Line the bottom of the trifle dish with the meringue pieces.

Top with a layer of lemon curd. Refrigerate.

In a separate medium mixer bowl, beat the whipped cream to soft peaks. In a smaller, separate bowl, using a spatula, combine the sugar and creme fraiche. Fold into the whipped cream. This will stabilize the cream so it doesn’t melt as quickly.

Layer the cream mixture on top of the lemon curd.

Decorate with berries, edible flowers and meringue pieces. Sprinkle the powdered meringue over all. Refrigerate where it will keep for 24 hours.

Lemon Curd Recipe if you want to make your own

5 egg yolks

1-cup sugar (superfine Baker’s sugar if given the choice)

4 lemons, zested first and then juiced (⅓ cup)

1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top pan of a double boiler over low heat (you want the water to simmer, not boil). Whisk until smooth. Continue to whisk until thickened, about 8 minutes. Whisk constantly. Mixture should be light yellow in color and coat the back of a spoon.

Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter pats one at a time, allowing each one to melt before adding the next one.

Add to a container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for two weeks.