Strawberry Short"cups" Recipe

Short"cups"

3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. cream of tartar
1 c. unsalted butter (room temperature)
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
2 (16oz) containers strawberries, sliced
1/4 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar.  Cut in butter using a fork or pastry cutter.  Add in heavy cream and beaten egg until well combined (may require some messy hand mixing :)).  Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough for a couple of minutes or until it makes a solid ball (no "flakeyness").

Using a regular size muffin tin, take an "egg" size ball of dough and press into individual cups, spreading evenly up the edges and at the base.  Fill all containers until you've used up your dough (I made about 16 "muffins").  Sprinkle each cup lightly with sugar.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until the edges are just a light, light golden brown.  Once finished, remove from oven and allow to cool momentarily in pans before removing.  Now the tricky part.  Because of the dough consistency, it's going to want to "puff up" in the center rather than staying in a nice bowl shape.  I used tiny "pinch" pots (see picture below - it's the size of the bottom part of an egg) to round out the center while still warm.  I'm thinking about baking them with the pinch pots IN the center next time...to see if that works even better.  Either way, it gave me the result I was wanting doing it this way as well.  You could use the bottom of a glass or any small "rounded" object to accomplish the same thing.

Carefully remove each cup from the tin and place on a cooling rack (I say carefully because shortcake is very "crumbly" and can easily fall apart).  While they're cooling, slice your strawberries and place in a medium bowl.  Add sugar.  Start with 1/4 c. and add more if desired (I like to make sure there's lot of "sauce" for the shortcake, so I throw in more).  Stir and let sit for about 20 minutes or until the sugar has created a nice sauce in the strawberries (you could also do this while the cakes are baking if you are on a time crunch).  Finally...the whipping cream...

Whipped Cream

1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla (I use the real stuff)
1 T. powdered sugar

In a medium metal bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form.  Add in vanilla and sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.  Do not overbeat (you don't want to make butter! :)).  Place in a covered container in fridge until ready to serve.  Stir before serving.

Assembly

Using a large spoon, pour a large helping of strawberries into each cup, making sure to use plenty of juice as well.  Top with a dollop of whipped cream (I like to do two seperate dollaps on top of each other...just like the way it looks :)).  For an added touch, place a sprig of a mint leaf in each or a few slices of strawberries on the plate.  Or if you realy want to go crazy, drizzle a chocolate swirl on the plate before placing the short"cup" on it.  The possibilities, as always, are endless, so have fun with it!!