When I was 5 or so, my dad took me to see some Strawberry Shortcake movie. About halfway through the movie, he told me we needed to get some popcorn. While we were in the lobby, he informed me that the movie was suddenly over and it was time to go home.
I knew it wasn’t over.
My father was a liar.
I was kind of devastated.
What kind of father, what kind of HUMAN pays good money to see such a cinematic delight and then doesn’t stay for the whole thing?!
Well, in the age of Netflix, I have discovered the wonders of my favorite childhood TV shows and movies. Not too long ago, I tried watching the very same Strawberry Shortcake movie with my daughter.
Ummmmm…I get it now. Children’s programming has improved (well, some of it…Caillou, you’d better run if I meet your little animated self in a dark alley because I will cut you before you can whine once!) by leaps and bounds since that dark day. Dad, I’m so sorry for all the mean thoughts I had that day. And just in case any of you are wondering, Rainbow Brite is a million times worse than Strawberry Shortcake.
So since I’m a grown-up now, it’s time for a grown-up strawberry shortcake. As a kid, we always had sweetened strawberries over angel food cake and called it strawberry shortcake, but I have come to discover (among other painful realizations, apparently…you guys can charge me for this therapy session if you want) that that is not actually strawberry shortcake and that real shortcakes are more like sweet biscuits or scones.
One of my favorite food combinations ever is strawberries and lemons (like here and here). So I decided in my grown-up strawberry shortcakes, I wanted lemon strawberry shortcakes. And speaking of lemons, have you guys ever tried Meyer lemons?! They are amazing.
They’re not just fancy things they talk about on Food Network competition shows and then you run out and buy them and wonder what the heck all the hype was about–they’re actually a hybrid of lemons and Mandarin oranges. Which makes them sweeter and fruitier and fabulous for cooking and baking.
For starters, I took my favorite scone recipe and swapped out the poppy seeds and regular lemon rind for the rind of a Meyer lemon. You’re going to need all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, very cold butter, and an egg.
Preheat oven to 400. Place baking rack in the middle-low position. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the lemon zest and whisk together again. Grate the frozen butter (a food processor makes that job super easy, but you can also just do it on a regular box grater).
Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture
and combine it with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a fork until everything appears moistened. Gently press the dough into a ball–it will take some time and some parts of the dough will be more moist than other parts, but continue pressing together until it forms a ball.
Lightly flour a surface (you can use the lined baking sheet if you want) and place the dough on top of the floured surface. Press into an 8″ disc
and cut into equal wedges with a butter knife. Separate the wedges and place them evenly on the baking sheet.
Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and add the zest of another Meyer lemon. Brush the butter mixture over each scone and then sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
(Yeah…if you’re waffling between the Silpat and the parchment paper, imagine how much fun it is to clean that mat.)
While the scones are cooling, slice 4 cups of fresh strawberries and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar (more less, depending on how sweet the berries are) and stir to combine. Allow the berries to sit for a few minutes.
In a chilled bowl, combine 1 cup whipping cream, 1/2 cup cold buttermilk, and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Beat with electric beaters until soft peaks form (this might be a tiny bit less set up than regular whipped cream).
When the shortcakes are cool, use a sharp knife to slice them in half and then spoon 1/2 cup of strawberries onto each bottom half (it’s okay if they spill out…that’s kind of the point). Top with the sweetened buttermilk whipped cream and then place the top half on the whipped cream. Serve immediately. Makes 8 shortcakes.
Meyer Lemon Strawberry Shortcakes with Buttermilk Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Shortcakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
- 3 tablespoons sugar plus more for sprinkling on top
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Zest of 2 Meyer lemons divided (if you can’t or don’t want to use Meyer lemons, regular lemons will be delicious)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold or frozen, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
- ½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
Filling
- 4 cups sliced strawberries
- ½ cup white sugar depending on sweetness of the berries
Buttermilk Whipped Cream
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Shortcakes
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Place baking rack in the middle-low position. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the lemon zest and whisk together again. Grate the frozen butter (a food processor makes that job super easy, but you can also just do it on a regular box grater). Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a fork until everything appears moistened. Gently press the dough into a ball–it will take some time and some parts of the dough will be more moist than other parts, but continue pressing together until it forms a ball.
- Lightly flour a surface (you can use the lined baking sheet if you want) and place the dough on top of the floured surface. Press into an 8″ disc and cut into equal wedges with a butter knife. Separate the wedges and place them evenly on the baking sheet.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and add the zest of another Meyer lemon. Brush the butter mixture over each scone and then sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Filling and Assembly
- While the scones are cooling, slice 4 cups of fresh strawberries and sprinkle with ½ cup sugar (more less, depending on how sweet the berries are) and stir to combine. Allow the berries to sit for a few minutes.
- In a chilled bowl (if possible), combine 1 cup whipping cream, ½ cup cold buttermilk, and ¼ cup powdered sugar. Beat with electric beaters until soft peaks form (this might be a tiny bit less set up than regular whipped cream).
- When the shortcakes are cool, use a sharp knife to slice them in half and then spoon ½ cup of strawberries onto each bottom half (it’s okay if they spill out…that’s kind of the point). Top with the sweetened buttermilk whipped cream and then place the top half on the whipped cream. Serve immediately. Makes 8 shortcakes.
Questions & Reviews
For me growing up, Strawberry Shortcake was lemon cake with strawberries. So I love that you have the lemon in a “real” version.
Yes, the new Strawberry Shortcakes are MUCH better. Thank goodness.
Oh those scones look good enough to eat all on their own!!
Meyer Lemons – I made a meyer lemon vinegrette once with reg lemons since I couldnt find Meyer ones and it was good but now I wonder if it would be better with the meyer since you noted they were sweeter – but where do you find them? Do I need to go to Whole Foods or someplace like that? My local grocery store didnt have them
I live in the middle of nowhere, where I believe there isn’t a Whole Foods or that type of store within 500 miles, and I actually stumbled accross meyer lemons at my local Wal-Mart. They were actually cheaper than regular lemons. I think it’s slightly seasonal, but I think this is actually the time of year when I started seeing them there.
I, perhaps, could have fit the word “actually” into that comment a few more times! Not to be confused with “literally”.
Yep, what JConnolly said! 🙂 They seem to be seasonal and I found these ones at Walmart.
I also should have noted that the ones that I found were pre-packaged in a cute blue/clear bag with a handle in the top (they may have been Sunkist brand?).
Living the lie here- my daughter wants “strawberry shortcake” for her birthday, but we all know she means angel food cake with strawberries. There’s just no obvious name for that dessert…
Anyway, this looks fantastic, and I have always wanted to try Meyer lemons!
I grew up with this kind of shortcake and I definitely prefer cake to shortcake. My mom is apalled! She considers the cake blasphemy.
I am SO excited you posted this recipe! We made the lemon scones for Easter and LOVED them and I actually wondered if it could be tweaked for strawberry shortcake. Unfortunately for me, I am not you, so I couldn’t create the actual recipe, but the idea was there! Thank you for bringing it to fruition, and for adding lemon, which only makes strawberries better! For the longest time I have been looking for a good strawberry SHORTCAKE recipe. I am SO not impressed with angel food cake or pound cake – I just don’t like the texture. But THIS is going to rock my world! Thanks for being wonderful!
I love your story, how cute! These look delicious, gosh I just love strawberries!
Sounds delicious! I love strawberry and lemon together. I also love your rainbow brite whisk.
FYI, in the recipe you list the sour cream twice — once with the dry ingredients and once with the egg. I assume you really want it to go in with the egg, but I thought I’d mention it.
THANK YOU! Fixed it! 🙂
This looks awesome! I usually don’t make strawberry shortcake unless it’s berry picking time, but I don’t know if I can wait that long!
Haha! I have to laugh right out loud because I too grew up eating angel food cake with strawberries all the while being told by my mom that we were eating strawberry shortcake! I was pretty doggone old before I learned the bald-faced truth! I love your Meyer lemon and strawberry combo! This is a must for my first bbq of the season, for sure!