Strawberry Pistachio Shortcakes
This recipe for Strawberry Shortcake uses all the dessert’s classic elements with the addition of chopped pistachios in the shortcake dough and for garnish. This gives the dessert beautiful, nutty flavor and the salty note from the pistachios really enhances the sweetness of the strawberries. If you’re a purist, you can simply omit the pistachios from this recipe for truly authentic strawberry shortcake as close to the original as it can possibly get. Plan ahead. The strawberries need to macerate with sugar for at least 2 hours, but overnight is better.
Equipment
- 3” round cookie cutter of pastry cutter
- Small grater or box grater
- piping bag with large open star tip optional
Ingredients
Strawberry filling
- 1 1/2 lbs. fresh strawberries hulled and sliced
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pistachio shortcakes
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream plus more if for brushing pastries
- 1/4 cup roasted salted whole pistachios finely chopped
Whipped cream and garnish
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream chilled
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup roasted salted whole pistachios finely chopped
- 4 whole strawberries halved with greens intact
Instructions
Strawberry filling
- Place the berries in a large bowl and pour the sugar over them. Toss the berries in the sugar to coat.
- Refrigerate the berries for at least two hours to macerate, stirring them occasionally. Longer is better, if you have time, let them stand in the fridge overnight for optimal syrup from the berries.
Pistachio shortcakes
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Grate the butter in a large bowl using the large side of a box grater. Freeze for about 15 minutes, or until the butter pieces are completely frozen.
- Meanwhile, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a separate bowl Whisk to combine.
- When the butter is frozen, pour the flour over the butter and work together with a fork, until fine pieces of butter are visible throughout the dough. (You can also use your fingertips, but make it quick! You don’t want to warm the butter too much.)
- Pour the pistachios in the mixture and stir them in with a fork to combine. Add the cream and stir until a stiff dough forms. If the dough seems too dry, add additional heavy cream to the bowl 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well, until a thick coherent dough forms.
- On a floured work surface or sheet of parchment, pat the dough into a round about 1/2-inch thick. Using a 3” cookie cutter or pastry ring, stamp as many shapes as possible from the dough. Re-roll scraps and cut again. Do this as many times as possible until all the dough is used.
- Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with heavy cream. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 16 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and brown the tops for 2 minutes, watching the shortcakes the entire time to prevent burning.
- Remove the shortcakes from the oven; transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Whipped cream
- Add the cream to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until slightly thickened. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large French pastry tube (open star tip). Or simply grab a spoon to dollop it on the cakes.
Assemble the shortcakes
- Cut the shortcakes in half horizontally so that you have a flat bottom and top. Fill them with the strawberry mixture, including some of the strawberry juices. Top with a swirl or dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.
- Place the shortcake ‘lid’ on top of the whipped cream. Pipe another small swirl or dollop of whipped cream on top of the shortcake, followed by more chopped pistachios. Finish with a strawberry half on top of each cake.
- Just before serving, spoon strawberry syrup over the tops.
Notes
What to expect: All the flavors of classic strawberry shortcake are in this dessert, along with the nutty flavor of pistachios. It's an authentic shortcake with a biscuit-like base (made from dough with short gluten strands) sweet, syrupy berries, and whipped cream to tie it all together.
Assemble these right before serving. If making ahead, it's easy to store each element separately, with the strawberries and cream kept cool in the fridge. The shortcakes can be kept at room temp in an airtight container. You'll notice in the video that the finished shortcake gets a generous drizzle of strawberry syrup - don't skip this part! It's so delicious and the traditional way to eat strawberry shortcake.
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