Edition: U.S. / Global

THE MINIMALIST; Truly Short Shortcake

Published: May 29, 2002

THE bakery-counter version of strawberry shortcake, which at its best is a layer cake bound by whipped cream and filled and topped with strawberries, is children's food, more akin to a Twinkie than to the real thing. Traditional strawberry shortcake is far faster and easier to make -- the entire process should run no more than 30 minutes -- and at the end you will be able to serve a crowd a humble, simple form that is far more sophisticated than a huge layer cake.

The traditional strawberry shortcake is a biscuitlike affair topped with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream. There is not much to say about the strawberries and the cream. Good strawberries are hard to find but easy to recognize, especially by taste. Good cream means cream that is not ultrapasteurized; it is readily available at specialty food stores.

But the biscuit is what makes this classic American dessert most intriguing. ''Short'' means crumbly, and it has been used to refer to cakes since the 16th century, according to Stephen Schmidt, a cookbook author and an authority on American desserts. The way to make a cake short, as experienced bakers know, is to increase the butter. The more you use in a recipe, the shorter -- meaning more tender, more crumbly (and more delicious) -- it becomes. That texture can be further enhanced if you use cake flour, the low-protein flour that develops gluten only reluctantly. Since gluten is what makes baked products tough and chewy, cake flour contributes to tenderness. You can use all-purpose flour instead, but treat the dough gently; do not handle it any more than absolutely necessary to combine the ingredients.

You might think that using a food processor runs counter to this admonition, but I'm too lazy to be a purist, and I like the idea of making biscuits without getting my hands wet and sticky. Follow the directions below, and you will produce tender, crumbly biscuits: the perfect platform for strawberries and cream.


Time: 30 minutes

6 cups cleaned and sliced strawberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups (about 9 ounces) cake flour, or use all-purpose

Pinch salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons cold butter

7/8 cup milk (low-fat is all right)

Sweetened whipped cream.

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the strawberries with 1 cup sugar. Mix remaining sugar with flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl or food processor. Cut the butter into bits, and either pulse it a few times quickly in the processor with the dry ingredients or take a little of the dry ingredients, rub a bit of butter into them with your fingers and drop back in the bowl. All the butter should be thoroughly blended.

2. If you are using a food processor, add the milk in a slow stream, pulsing on and off, just to mix. (It is easier than it sounds.) Or slowly add the milk to the bowl, stirring it in with a large spoon until the mixture forms a ball. The mixture should be sticky; use a little more or less milk if necessary. Drop mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet, one heaping tablespoon per cake. Bake about 10 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. (Keep an eye on them; once browning starts, it goes quickly.) Let cool a bit; top with strawberries and their juices and the whipped cream.

Yield: 12 servings.

Note: To feed 4 to 6, make the same biscuit recipe, but use only 2 cups strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar for the berries. It's very likely the extra biscuits will be eaten.

Drawing (Nina Duran)