The Cooking Chronicles: Strawberry Shortcake

Having seen strawberries advertised in flyers over the last few weeks, I was drawn to Michael Smith's recipe for Strawberry Shortcake in a recent edition of the Globe & Mail.

I tried my hand at it on Monday night, and was sorely disappointed with what was by far the blandest dessert I've ever made. The nutmeg-flavored biscuits and sweetened strawberries were passable on their own, but paired together with the vanilla-scented whip cream, ended up tasting all wrong.

Though I could detect the difference in the cream versus butter-based dough (which resulted in a lighter, cake-like consistency) the biscuit itself doesn't lend itself well, in my opinion, to dessert, and fares better as a brunch item. The whipped cream would have benefited from a sweeter additive like honey, but it probably wouldn't elevate this dish to second-attempt-worthy status.

I may end up retreating back to my fail safe panna cotta to pair with other fresh berries this season.

Strawberry Shortcake