Strawberry Shortcake

One of the best desserts to make in summer is Strawberry Shortcake.....a true summer dessert.

Ingredients:

• 250g self raising flour
• 75g unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• icing sugar for dusting

For the filling:

• 350g fresh strawberries
• 284ml whipping cream

Method:

Stir in the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the butter and rub together until you achieved the texture of a fine breadcrumbs.

Add in the sugar and mix well.

Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Mix to make a soft dough.

Place the dough on a floured surface and press/roll out to a 8" in diameter. Transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 200C for 10 to 15 minutes until firm and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Whip the cream and hull the strawberries, then slice the strawberries.

Once the shortcake has cooled slice it in half with a sharp bread knife. Take the top half and carefully cut into 12 equal segments.

Spread a layer of cream on the bottom half of the shortcake and place a layer of sliced strawberries on top.

Spread another layer of cream and add another layer of  strawberries. Keep 12 pieces of half strawberries back for decorating on the top of  the cake.

Spread the remaining cream onto the filling. Carefully place the shortcake segments on top of the cake.

Dust with icing sugar and place the halved starwberries on each segment. Dust lightly once more with icing sugar and serve.

Tips:

If your dough is a bit too sticky add a tbsp of flour into the mixture and it should come together very well..