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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Strawberry Shortcake

April 30, 2020 by Mary 3 Comments

I first posted a picture of this Strawberry Shortcake on my Instagram account and received so many likes, including a request for the recipe. So, here is my recipe for Strawberry Shortcake that is really quite easy and as you can see, it is one of those things that makes a super luscious, impressive dessert!

I made this as the belated birthday dessert for my daughter-in-law, Kate, and the store had crappy looking strawberries, so we used blackberries and raspberries. Any good berry you like will do! I don’t like my desserts too sweet, so I do not add much sugar to the fruit as I think you really don’t need it. But do add more if you so choose.

Strawberry Shortcake signals spring to me as spring and summer are the height of strawberry season vs. the flavorless variety available in the winter. Agata, my other daughter-in-law in Poland, said the Instagram post made her craving for strawberries. And I found some good ones the next day after serving Kate her special treat.

You can wrap up the shortcake in aluminum foil and warm it in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 7 minutes and it will taste just as fresh as the day you made it – as these pictures show with the strawberries.

The other secret ingredient!

The real secret here is a tip from my mom. Make sure the cake is warm, split it and put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, followed by the berries to fall over it. The butter makes everything just a little richer, fresher and yummier.

Some Strawberry Shortcake recipes have a lot of butter in the cake portion. But I prefer a lighter cake and then using the butter fresh, as a finishing touch, as my mom did it. Super delish.

The background story…

When I was a little girl around ten years old, my mom gave me the responsibility to make a dessert every night during the summer. That was my “job”. And now don’t forget that I am the youngest of six, with five older brothers. Growing up in the Midwest, dessert was mandatory, even if it was just simply Jell-O and Cool Whip (a newfangled thing at that time). Yuk!

So, I had to choose the dessert recipe, make sure I had the ingredients and make it in time for dinnertime. Making Strawberry Shortcake, was one of my go-to recipes as it was simple, easy and impressive. And, my mom grew strawberries in our garden in the backyard that were so sweet and delicious!!

In those days, Bisquick was also a relatively newfangled thing that you could use to make biscuits, pancakes, waffles and yes, shortcake. And I often used Bisquick, but because this recipe is so easy and I have an aversion to premade processed food, please go with this recipe. It will not disappoint.

Enjoy!! And serve with LOVE.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE – serves 6 – 8

3 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and thickly sliced, or other mixed berries, leaving 6 – 8 berries whole, with the green tops, for the final decoration when serving.
¼  cup white sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar 
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsalted butter – very cold
1 egg – at room temperature
⅔ cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 rounded Tbs. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Slice the strawberries (leave other small berries whole), and toss them with 1/4 cup of white sugar. Cover and set aside so juices will accumulate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. Sift all ingredients together into a bowl. With a pastry blender or knife, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Lightly beat the egg in another small bowl. Beat in the milk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined and no flour is visible. The dough will be more bread-like and sticky. Use your hands for the final mix to combine everything.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. You will have to work at spreading it out. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in the pan on a wire rack.

The finishing touches

Whip the heavy cream into luscious soft peaks, adding the powdered sugar and vanilla after it first starts to thicken. Do not over whip.

Slice partially cooled cake in wedges and then split each wedge in half, making two layers. Put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, top with berries to fall over it and top with the other cake layer. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream and one whole strawberry or some small berries as shown in the photos.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy.

Filed Under: Desserts, Tea time Tagged With: berries, dessert, desserts, shortcake, strawberries, whipped cream

Dining out

May 19, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

Caviar Russe gravlox with caviar on a white plate.
I had a terrific lunch with my friend Judy this past week. She took me to Caviar Russe. It was divine! Judy is in the investment banking business and likes to take clients there. It is on the second floor overlooking Madison Avenue and she said she likes to come particularly in the winter when it’s snowing. To look out of that second floor window with the snow falling, is just so pretty. The seating is dark chocolate colored suede banquettes with beautiful china and exquisite service. They know Judy there so I’m certain we got special treatment.

This food is certainly not what I could make or serve at home. It was precious, beautiful, delicious and unusual, and my boys would have gone home hungry. Just take a look at the appetizer on the lunch tasting menu we had. Gravlox with Russian Caviar, creme fraiche, dill, lemon zest, little bits of crisp brown bread chips and flowers. (the flowers were probably from the mountains of Switzerland?) The delicate fish sat on a small pool of creme fraiche as well and having white ribbons of creme fraiche adorn it. I don’t know how they made those. Perhaps rapid freeze a thin slab of creme and then cut it into ribbons? Anyway, it was so pretty, I had to be one of those gawkers who actually took a picture at the table. I wanted to share it with you! (Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry – I had to take them quickly with my iPhone.)
Caviar Russe chocolate ganache on a beautiful plate.

For dessert, which isn’t normally served with this meal, our waiter brought out this lovely serving of chocolate ganache with whipped creme and some sort of crunchy toffee like topping. This was served with the traditional ivory caviar spoon – and with that beautiful plate, it was almost too pretty to eat. But not enough. And it was delicious! Thank you Judy and Caviar Russe!

Filed Under: Lunch Tagged With: brown bread crisps, Caviar Russe, chocolate ganache, creme fraiche, dill, gravlox, iPhone, lemon zest, lunch, Russian caviar, whipped cream

Truly Southern Pecan Pie

November 22, 2011 by Mary Frances 13 Comments

Pecan pie is my all-time favorite dessert! My father was a correspondent banker for a large bank in St. Louis, and his territory was the Southeast area. He traveled all over doing business with smaller banks in the region. And as he became close friends with many of these folks, we used to visit them on family vacations.

I learned to water ski on Lake Norfork in Mountain Home, Arkansas at Powers and Louise Fowler’s weekend lake house. They had a really fast powerboat (Powers liked speed) as well as a pontoon party barge, (Louise loved a party). One time, when I was about 12 years old, for some reason, I was with my parents alone. None of my other 5 brothers were with us and we visited the Fowlers.

So my mom says, “Louise, you make the best pecan pie and it’s Mary’s favorite. I wondered if we could have your recipe.”

Mrs. Fowler said in her lovely Southern drawl, “Well honey, why don’t we just go and make Mary one right now, and of course you can have the recipe!”

Cocktail in hand, she got up, went straight into the kitchen and made me a pecan pie right then and there.

And I have been making them for years. These days I use less sugar and Karo syrup as I like things less sweet. If you like it really sweet, go with the full cup measurements.

MRS. FOWLER’S PECAN PIE
3 eggs beaten (take out early to be at room temperature)
1 scant cup of packed light brown sugar
1 scant cup of Karo light syrup (I know it’s not good for you – just close your eyes, just this once OR you can                                                          substitute 7/8’s of a cup of raw agave syrup)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs with a whisk, add in all remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 9” pie crust, which has not been pricked, but has been baked for 5 – 10 minutes, weighted with beans or rice in parchment paper.

Bake for 40 – 50 minutes. Test with a knife or toothpick in the middle – should come out clean and the center slightly set. Cool completely before cutting and serving. Bake this in the morning before your feast.

Serve with whipped cream sweetened with a touch of powdered sugar and some vanilla. I use 1/2 pint of heavy cream, 1 tbs. powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat until soft peaks form.

For me, this is the perfect ending to a Thanksgiving meal!

Pecan pie.

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: pecan pie, pecans, Southern, Thanksgiving dessert, vanilla, whipped cream

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Mary Frances

Mary Frances

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