Homemade strawberry shortcake

This classic dessert is an absolute must-do on any day! Strawberry shortcut is one of those desserts that never goes out of style and is a guaranteed way to impress any guests you might have over for tea.

Making them from scratch will taste so much better as you can figure out your own personal cream-to-strawberry ratio that suits your tastebuds. The ingredients are super simple and as long as you get a fresh, juicy supply of strawberries, there is no way to mess this up!

Ingredients

• 600g strawberries stemmed and sliced
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
  
• 3 cups plain flour
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/3 cups cold whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2tbsp whipping cream, for brushing on shortcakes
  
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

 Method

1. Place strawberries in a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Cover and refrigerate. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.  In a large bowl sift flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in salt. Add butter pieces. Use clean hands to mix butter into the flour mixture. Mix until resembles breadcrumbs. In a small bowl, add cream and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead together until all combined. Press dough into a circle about 3cm thick. Cut into biscuit-sized rounds. Place on prepared trays. Place in refrigerator to cool for 20 mins. Brush tops biscuit tops with cream. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool completely.
3. In a large bowl add cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Whip together with an electric beater until the cream has stiff peaks. Cut cooled biscuits in half horizontally. Spoon whipped cream on the bottom half. Place strawberries on top. Top with the second half of the biscuit. Top with another layer of cream and strawberries. Repeat to remaining biscuits. Serve.