Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcakes

Posted by clarablood on July 11, 2013 · 7 Comments 

Strawberry shortcake was a summer staple when we were growing up. I think Ellen had a streak of over ten years where she had strawberry shortcake for her birthday.  The recipe our mom made was a more cake- like shortcake recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  She would bake the cake in a round cake pan and cut slices of the cake before topping them with mounds of syrupy strawberries and plumes of whipped cream.

Our dad, who has an incredible sweet tooth, would pour the syrup from the sugar soaked strawberries into a glass of milk. He would always offer the rest of us a sip but we would always politely decline.  Or rather, I, being a firey little child, would rudely decline “EWWW that’s WAY TOO SWEET!!”.

My mom also likes to cook rhubarb with a bit of sugar, stir in strawberries, and serve it over yoghurt.  This combination is part of the inspiration for this new twist on an old favorite. Recently my mom and I have gravitated to more biscuit-like shortcake recipes that are less sweet than the Better Homes and Gardens recipe.  I adapted a tasty cornmeal biscuit recipe from a 1999 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine to include  a combination of whole wheat pastry flour, white flour, and cornmeal.

Oh, and I used FULL FAT local buttermilk instead of non-fat buttermilk like the original recipe calls for. Yes, it was the late 90s, but c’mon Martha, low-fat biscuits? Really?! Whipped grass- fed cream and rhubarb and strawberry compote is delicious over this slightly sweet biscuits.  The biscuits don’t get overly soggy but have moisture and a great crumb from the buttermilk.

Cornmeal Biscuits

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾  teaspoon salt

1 ½  tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for topping, if desired

¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

whipped cream, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir in 3/4 cup buttermilk until the mixture holds together.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch-round cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut out eight rounds, and place on prepared parchment; discard scraps of dough. Brush tops of biscuits with remaining tablespoon buttermilk. Bake until golden and puffy, about 12 minutes. Serve warm with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote and freshly whipped cream.

 

Strawberry- Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients

3 ½-4 cups rhubarb cut into ½ in slices

2 cups strawberries

⅔ cup sugar

a scant ¼ cup of water

Directions

Combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan with a VERY small amount of water.  Remember that the strawberries and rhubarb have alot of moisture in them.  Bring mixture to a boil and simmer over very low heat til rhubarb is soft. This should take about half an hour but longer is generally better if you use a slow cooker or an aga.

Filed under Desserts · Tagged with Baking powder, Biscuit, Buttermilk, Cornmeal, Flour, Martha Stewart Living, Rhubarb, Strawberry, Tablespoon, Whipped cream