Shortcake facts for kids
A strawberry shortcake
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| Type | Cake or biscuit |
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| Place of origin | UK |
| Main ingredients | Flour, sugar, butter, milk or cream |
Shortcake is a yummy sweet treat that can be a type of cake or a biscuit. In the United States, it's a crumbly bread that rises with baking powder or baking soda.
In the UK, the word shortcake means a biscuit that's a lot like shortbread. These are usually less thick and more crunchy and dry than shortbread.
Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, milk or cream. Sometimes, eggs are added too. First, the dry ingredients are mixed. Then, butter is cut into the mix until it looks like cornmeal. Finally, liquids are added and mixed just enough to make a soft dough.
The dough can be dropped in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. It can also be rolled out and cut like baking powder biscuits, or poured into a cake pan. This depends on how wet the dough is and what the baker prefers. It's then baked at a hot temperature until it's ready.
Contents
Strawberry Shortcake: A Popular Dessert
Strawberry shortcake is a very famous dessert made with shortcake. To make it, sliced strawberries are mixed with sugar. They sit for about an hour so the strawberries release a lot of their juices. This process is called maceration.
The shortcakes are cut in half. The bottom half is covered with strawberries, their juice, and whipped cream. The whipped cream is usually sweetened with sugar and vanilla. The top half is put back on, and more strawberries and whipped cream are added on top.
Some quick versions of shortcake don't use a shortcake biscuit at all. Instead, they might use a sponge cake or even a corn muffin as the base. In Japan, strawberry shortcakes often use a sponge cake base. They are a very popular treat during Christmas.
Record-Breaking Shortcake
The biggest strawberry shortcake ever made was in La Trinidad, Benguet in the Philippines. It was made on March 20, 2004. This giant shortcake weighed an amazing 21,213.40 pounds (9622.23 kg)! That's super heavy!
Other Shortcake Flavors
While strawberry is the most well-known shortcake dessert, you can also find other delicious kinds. These include peach shortcake, blueberry shortcake, and chocolate shortcake. They are made in a similar way. Sometimes, the shortcake itself is flavored. For example, coconut is a common ingredient to add to the shortcake dough.
The History of Strawberry Shortcake
Today, shortcakes are usually made with a biscuit or sponge cake. However, older American recipes used pie crusts, either in round shapes or broken pieces. Some people still enjoy this type of shortcake, especially in the Southern United States.
The very first recipe for strawberry shortcake was found in an English cookbook. This was as early as 1588, according to Driscoll's berry growers. By the 1850s, strawberry shortcake was a well-known dessert. It was made with biscuits and fruit, served warm with butter and sweetened cream.
In the United States, people used to hold "strawberry shortcake parties." These were celebrations of the summer fruit harvest. This tradition is still kept alive in some parts of the US on June 14, which is known as Strawberry Shortcake Day. It wasn't until 1910 that French pastry chefs started using heavy whipped cream as the topping instead of other creams.
Images for kids
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American-style strawberry shortcake with a biscuit base
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American-style strawberry shortcake with a sponge cake base
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Asian-style strawberry cake
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Asian-style strawberry cake
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See also
In Spanish: Shortcake para niños
