Chocolate Shortcake with Strawberries, Milk Chocolate Puddle, and Mascarpone

by Serena Bass
from Serena, Food & Stories
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2004)
Makes 12 shortcakes

This sounds difficult but it’s really not. In fact, it can all be prepared a day before, baked, and then assembled two hours before your party. You could requisition a friend to come early and stack it all together for you; it’s such a beautiful thing, how could they complain? So, there are four pieces to the puzzle.—Serena Bass

convert Ingredients
For the milk chocolate puddle
1 cup heavy cream
10 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

For the strawberries
32 ounces (8 cups) strawberries
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries

For the shortcake
3 cups Heckers or King Arthur all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cocoa
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch dice and chilled
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 extra-large egg white for the glaze

For the mascarpone
Two 8-ounce containers mascarpone

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Method
Make the milk chocolate puddle
1. Put the cream in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. When tiny bubbles appear around the edge, turn off the heat and tip in the chocolate. Shake the pan to submerge the chocolate, wait 1 minute, and then stir to combine. Pour into a plastic container (to make it easier to soften later in the microwave) and set aside.

Prepare the strawberries
1. Wash, dry, and hull the strawberries. Then cut them in halves or quarters depending on their size. Mix with the sugar and set aside, leave covered in the fridge for at 1 hour, and preferably overnight.

Make the Shortcake
1. Position a rack in the top of the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C). (Do give the oven time to reach this high temperature as these shortcakes are rich, and like the Montgolfiers, need a blast of hot air to rise properly.)

2. Put the flour, cocoa, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and butter in a food processor and give 10 short pulses to mix. Tip into a wide shallow bowl. Pour the cream and vanilla over the cocoa mixture.

3. Using a large fork, quickly and lightly mix the wet into the dry. When the ingredients are just combined, leave to rest for 5 minutes, then lightly gather into a ragged mass, tip out onto a floured surface and lightly shape, then roll into a horizontal 9- by 12-inch rectangle.

4. Brush with the egg white and sprinkle on the 1 tablespoon of sugar. Trim the edges straight with a long, thin sharp knife. Then cut the dough into 12 squares making 2 equal cuts across and 3 down (or cut into twelve 3-inch circles with a cookie cutter). Put the shortcakes on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until just firm.

5. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool on a rack. Split in half horizontally while still warm and set the tops back on the bases.

To assemble
1. Arrange all the shortcake bases on a platter, spoon on 2 or 3 tablespoons of strawberries with their juice, and then spoon on 2 tablespoons of the mascarpone. Place the top shortcake half on, squashing down lightly so the mascarpone oozes out. Spoon more strawberries and mascarpone on top, then set aside for up to half on hour.

2. Soften the ganache in the microwave on the defrost setting, until it has a thick pouring consistency, then spoon it over the shortcakes just before serving. Top with a juice-soaked strawberry.

Recipe © 2004 Serena Bass. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.