Strawberry and Cherry Shortcake

Isn't that little strawberry on top of this shortcake just the cutest thing you have ever seen?  Every May and June, loads of big juicy California strawberries flood the market at lower than normal prices.  I usually stock up on these.  And then in late June, in New England, the local strawberries debut.  They are small, cute, fragrant, photogenic and really really expensive.  I always get sticker shock and resist for a bit, then I just break down and buy the 7 dollar little basket.  I shake my head at the receipt, consider myself a sucker, and then I bite into one, and all my negative feelings about the price slip away.  The local strawberries are worth every penny, not only are they picture perfect, they taste so much better than the gargantuan ones shipped in - juicy, sweet and pure strawberry flavor.  You have to eat them quickly though, they get mushy quickly.  The perfect thing to do with strawberries that are a tad past their prime (besides making jam), is strawberry shortcake.  I like to go the biscuit route with my shortcake, and these were so tender that they would have fallen apart if I tried to cut them in half.  So instead I made a little strawberry and cherry compote, by sauteing the fruit for just a few minutes with a little sugar and a little orange liqueur, and plopped the biscuit right on top.   The perfect way to enjoy June fruit.

Strawberry shortcake

Ingredients (for 4 biscuits)

Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Fruit 
about 2 lbs of strawberries (I mixed in some cherries I had as well)
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons orange liquer

Whipped cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar and baking powder in a small bowl.
3. Add butter and with hands, break up the butter and mix in the flour, rubbing the butter into the flour so that it breaks up into pebble sized pieces.  You could also do this with a fork.
4. Add the buttermilk and stir together with a fork until the dough comes together.
5. Combine the dough into a ball.  Divide into four and make four round sized biscuits.
6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake biscuits for about 20 minutes - they will still be fairly light colored.  Tester inserted in the middle should come out dry.
8. Let cool on rack.
9. To make fruit mixture, hull the strawberries and quarter if large. I left my little local gems whole.  Combine with the sugar and the liquer in a small sauce pan, cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the strawberries are starting to give up their juice, about 3 - 5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat and let cool.
11. To make whipped cream, combine the cream and sugar in the bowl of a mixer with the whisk attachment.  Beat over high heat until soft peaks form.  Add the vanilla and beat a few seconds to incorporate.
12. Serve by spooning the berry mixture into a shallow bowl, place the biscuit on top and top with whipped cream.