Strawberry Shortcakes

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, frozen
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• Approximately 11 ounces strawberries
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Few drops balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped, or creme fraiche
• 1 baking sheet, greased or lined with parchment or wax paper
• 2 1/2-inch round cutter

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl.
3. Grate the butter into these dry ingredients and use your fingertips to finish crumbling the butter into the flour.
4. Whisk the egg into the cream, and pour into the flour mixture a little at a time, using a fork to mix.
5. You may not need all of the eggy cream to make the dough come together, so go cautiously.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll gently to a thickness of about 3/4 inch.
7. Dip the cutter in flour and cut out as many rounds as you can.
8. Work the scraps back into a dough, re-roll and finish cutting outyou should get 8 in all.
9. Place the shortcakes about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg white, and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
10. If it helps with the rest of your cooking, or life in general, you can cover and refrigerate them now for up to 2 hours.
11. Bake for 1015 minutes, until golden brown, and let them cool for a short while on a wire rack.
12. Meanwhile, crush half the strawberries with the spoonful of sugar and the few drops of balsamic vinegar if using, and halve or quarter the remaining strawberries, depending on their size.
13. Whip the heavy cream, if youre using.
14. The shortcakes should be eaten while still warm, so split each one across the middle and cover with a spoonful of the crushed strawberry mixture, a few halved or quartered strawberries, then dollop some whipped cream or creme fraiche on top, and set the top back on.

flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, unsalted butter, egg, light cream, egg white, strawberries, sugar, vinegar, heavy cream, baking sheet, cutter

Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/strawberry-shortcakes (may not work)