Strawberry Shortcake

With strawberries so tasty and such good value at the moment, I am always on the lookout for new ways to showcase those plump red gems. Of course, strawberries are great on their own, but they are great with other things too. They're fantastic with the ricotta hotcakes I made recently, but they are also great in a strawberry shortcake - an old fashioned, classic dessert.

I actually made this strawberry shortcake for my mum-in-law as she was visiting for Singapore. She loves trying new types of foods, but she doesn't eat eggs, so this recipe was perfect for the occasion. Delicious along with a dollop of double cream or creme fraiche as part of a special afternoon tea or dessert.

Strawberry Shortcake
Recipe adapted from AWW's Sweet Old-Fashioned Favourites

This recipe made quite a lot of mixture for the base so I had leftovers. I used my leftovers to make little shortbread biscuits and stored them in an airtight container. Just refrigerate any leftover dough for a couple of hours and then roll it out and cut into desired shapes.

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter
pinch salt
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 c caster sugar
1/3 c rice flour
1 c self raising flour
250g punnet strawberries (washed, hulled and halved)
1/2 c strawberry jam

Method
1. Lightly grease a tart tin approximately 25cm in diameter.

2. Have butter at room temperature. Beat butter, salt, zest, juice and sugar until creamy, but not too fluffy as you would aim for if making a cake. Stir in sifted flours in 2 batches. Press ingredients together gently, knead lightly until smooth. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour.

3. Roll out dough and lay over tin, pressing it in neatly. If the dough breaks whilew doing this, don't worry too much, just continue pressing it in until you have a thin even layer. Prick the base with a fork, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for another hour.

4. Remove tart base from fridge and remove clingfilm. Bake in a moderate oven (180-190 degrees celsuis) about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in tin.

5. Transfer tart base onto serving plate, decorate with berries. Warm jam in a small pan (or even the microwave briefly); strain and brush evenly over the strawberries.

And to sweeten Monday just a litte bit more, I am please to announce the winner of my 1st Birthday and 100th Post Giveaway.

Congratulations to Jen of Truffled Pink!

You have won a copy of '200 Cupcakes' by Joanna Farrow :)

Thank you once again to all of you, my valued readers. I appreciate each and every one of you, and I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Ladybird x