The centuries-old Irish passion for strawberries in season has turned this into one of the country’s favorite desserts. The shortcake is the real deal — not some nondescript sponge cake, but a scaled-up cream scone that’s rich and tender, perfect for soaking up the sweet juice of the strawberries and supporting the luscious cream.
For the fruit filling:
For the shortcake:
For the whipped cream:
Hull and halve the strawberries (or quarter them if they’re large). Toss them with 3 tablespoons of sugar and refrigerate for at least half an hour to allow their juices to “draw” and create a syrup with the sugar.
Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, the salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl. Add the double cream and mix until just combined. Add more cream if necessary — you want a stiff dough but not one so dry that it refuses to come together.
Place the mixture in an ungreased, deep 8-inch cake pan (a springform will work too) and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.
Carefully remove the shortcake from the pan and place on a rack to cool.
Cut into 6 pieces. Split each one horizontally.
Now make the whipped cream. Using the whisk attachment on a stick mixer, the whisk on a stand mixer, or an electric beater, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla together in a medium bowl until soft peaks form — about 2 minutes. Set aside.
Place the bottom half of each shortcake slice on a serving plate. Spoon strawberries and their juice onto each slice. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream, then gently put the top slice in place. Spoon more strawberries on top, add more cream, and finish with a final strawberry as garnish. Serve.
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