Strawberry Shortcake
EXCLUSIVELY for Club REELZ Members

It’s almost here… June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day! We checked in with our Club REELZ Master Chef (and golf caddie) to see what wisdom he could impart on this traditional spring-summer holiday and dessert. He suggests that you don’t play by the rules and swing for the birdie on your Strawberry Shortcake. There are many great basic recipes for this classic and variations from a sweet biscuit base to a yellow or poundcake base.  All the variations are delicious, and they are a matter of personal taste, so we won’t bother you with the base recipe. You can find your perfect base on-line or in your favorite cookbook. What we will do is give you ideas for variations to make a regular Strawberry Shortcake into your Special Shortcake.  So here we go…

 

1. Flavored Whipped Cream

• • First it is important to make your own whipped cream.  Please don’t get it in the can.  As you’re preparing your whipped cream (Chef always make his with ¼ tsp vanilla and 1 tbs of powdered sugar) add one of these options:
    • Coco Powder – chocolate goes great with strawberries. Just slowly add the powder to the whipped cream as you’re whipping it until you get the consistency and flavor you want.
    • A Teaspoon of Jam – choose your flavor. Chef likes strawberry or raspberry jam. However, many people like a little citrus so they add orange marmalade or orange zest to their whipped cream.  Add it in late in the process after the cream is already fluffy.
    • A Bit of Spice – add a ½ tsp of cinnamon and a ¼ tsp of nutmeg. Your mouth might just water thinking about this whipped cream. It’s the Chef’s favorite.

2. Balsamic Vinegar – Add a splash of the fancy stuff to your sliced strawberries and sugar mixture to give the strawberries a little tang. There are many exotic flavors of balsamic in specialty stores. Take a chance and pick one.

3. Fresh Basil – Add a sprig to each slice of cake. Strawberries and basil go great together.  In fact, Chef always adds strawberries to his caprese salads because they go so well together.

4. Caramelized Bananas – OK, this is a showstopper! Put this on top of the shortcake instead of the strawberries and under the whipped cream. Strawberries in the middle – this on top:

• In a frying pan put 4 tbs butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt and two sliced bananas. After everything is combined and melted stir for 2 minutes. Now you have bananas and a sauce to go over each slice of cake.

Choose any of these variations or combine two to make your own personal recipe. Please email us to let us know how yours turned out and share your tips with the Chef at ClubREELZ@reelz.com.