Meyer Lemon Strawberry Shortcakes with Buttermilk Whipped Cream

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 regular 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.