Yesterday was a comedy of errors. I made strawberry shortcake for a dinner we were having at my community group. It wasn't a huge undertaking; shortcake is a pretty easy thing to make but everything that could go wrong, did. Now, I know that some of you think that baked goods just effortlessly appear from my kitchen...
... let me dispel that myth. My day was much more like this.
It started with the flour. I was reaching to the top shelf to pull it down. I know better, I really do. But I was lazy and didn't feel like dragging a chair over to the cupboard. I thought if I stretched real big I could get it. Um, no. The bag of flour fell on my head and burst open covering everything in my kitchen, including myself, in white flour. I looked like a powered donut. Someone suggested that I should have gotten a photo. Well, I apologize for not taking a moment to take a picture of myself covered in flour for your amusement. Your imagination will have to suffice. I can tell you that I kind of looked like this...
(ok, is anyone else dying to know the story behind this guy's picture?)
Anyway, while I was cleaning up the powdered kitchen, my oven started smoking because in the midst of my chaos I was burning my lunch. The fire alarm started screaming at me, both downstairs and up. I had to drag the chair that I was too lazy to pull out in the first place all the way upstairs to turn off the alarm. I finally finished baking and headed over to my community group. When I got out of my car I piled the shortcakes, the container of strawberries and the bowl of whipped cream all on top of each other so I didn't have to make two trips. (hmmm, again with the laziness... I am now seeing a common thread all of this) I took one step and the whipped cream fell on the street and the lid flew off. Fortunately, I only lost about a cup of it so all was not lost.
When the night was over, I came home and carried all of the dishes to my kitchen. I then noticed that the bowl of strawberries was not closed all the way and was leaking bright red strawberry juice all over my jeans. I took one look behind me and discovered that I had left a strawberry juice trail on the beige carpet through my living room. I had to spend about an hour with spot remover and a rag trying to pull it up. As I was on my hands and knees scrubbing my carpet, I was thinking of the series of unfortunate events that made up my day and I decided that the strawberry shortcake wasn't THAT good and next time I might just call upon good ole' Sarah Lee!
Here is the recipe for those who want to brave it. (bake at your own risk)
Strawberry Shortcake
5 cups sliced, fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup and 2 Tbs. cold butter
1/2 cup and 1 Tbs. milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
In a small bowl, combine sliced strawberries and sugar. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the mild egg yolk and vanilla; stir into crumb mixture until a soft, sticky, dough forms.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead 10 times. Gently pat or roll until the dough is 3/4 inches thick. Use a round biscuit cutter to make shortcakes. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack; cool for 15 minutes.
To assemble, split shortcakes in half. Place cake bottoms on dessert plates then top each with strawberries and whipped cream. Cover with shortcake top and remaining berries and cream. Enjoy!
Oh Tam! so sorry that the night got even worse for you. At any rate the shortcakes look really yummy.
ReplyDeleteOh my. =( At least you used your whitty storytelling skills to turn that aweful day into a fantastic post. I hope the carpet cleaned up well!
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is evil, but I am relieved to learn that these kinds of days are not reserved only for mothers of toddlers. I have these days more often than I want to acknowledge!
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