Recipe: Chef Chris Hastings' Strawberry Shortcakes with Honeysuckle Crème Fraîche
As a child, Chef Chris Hastings (Hot & Hot Fish Club, Ovenbird) and his family and would go out each May and pick strawberries from the local “pick your own” farms around Charlotte, North Carolina where they lived. His mother was a great cook and she loved the adventure of foraging for food as much as she did cooking. The smell and taste of a perfectly ripe strawberry that is still warm from the sun is one of his favorite food memories. Sadly, juicy ripe strawberries are hard to find these days. Look for fresh strawberries at your local farmers’ market that are red all the way through that are naturally sweet with a slight tanginess. You can use this shortcake recipe throughout the summer, switching out the strawberries for whatever berry is in season.
First-of-the-Season Strawberry Shortcakes with Honeysuckle Crème Fraîche
Serves 8
Strawberries
1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 21/2 cups)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Shortcakes
2 cups all-purpose White Lily flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole-milk buttermilk, divided
1 tablespoon coarse, raw sugar
1 1/2 cups Honeysuckle Crème Fraîche
To Prepare the Strawberries:
Combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small glass or stainless steel bowl. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
To Prepare the Shortcakes:
Mix together 2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until pea-sized pieces are formed. Refrigerate the flour and butter mixture, until well chilled, about 30 minutes.
Slowly add 3/4 cup of the buttermilk into the chilled flour mixture until a dough begins to come together. Be careful not to overmix or the shortcakes will be tough.
Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat down into a 1-inch thick circle. Using a 11/2-inch round cutter, cut as many shortcakes as you can out of the dough. Gently pull together the dough scrapes and pat into a 1-inch thick circle. Continue cutting out shortcakes with remaining dough.
Place the shortcakes onto an ungreased baking sheet and brush the tops with the remaining tablespoon of buttermilk. Sprinkle the coarse sugar evenly over the tops of the shortcakes. Bake at 425˚F for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, remove from the oven, and cool slightly.
Cut the shortcakes in half, horizontally, and place 2 halves on each of 8 dessert plates. Spoon 1/4 cup of the macerated strawberries and their juices onto the bottom half of each shortcake. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the crème fraîche over each of the strawberries and top each with the top half of the shortcake. Serve immediately.