Ingredients

Shortcakes:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

4 ounces unsalted butter, cold

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 large egg

Strawberry Sauce:

1 1/2 cups fresh organic strawberries, rinsed, stemmed and quartered

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 fresh lemon, juiced

Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon tahitian vanilla extract

Strawberries:

3 pints of fresh organic strawberries

Preparation

To Make The Shortcakes:

Sift the flour, sugar baking powder and salt. Chop the butter into small pieces. In a bowl of a standing mixer, add the flour mixture and butter. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until butter is the size of a peas.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and egg. Add the cream-egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until dough forms.

Place the dough on a floured working surface. Roll into a rectangle abotu 1/2-inch thick. lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter , and then rotate the dough so the rectangle is in front of you. Repeat the rolling process and folding of the dough. Roll out the dough one more time about 1/2-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, punch the shortcakes. Place the cakes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather the scrapes, roll into a ball, and roll out to punch more shortcakes. Chill the cakes int he freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and 2 teaspoons water. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of the shortcakes and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

To Make The Strawberry Sauce:

In a sauce pan, add the strawberries, sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer until the strawberries cook down and the juice thickens. Puree in a blender and pour through a sieve. Refrigerate and chill.

To Make The Whipped Cream:

In a fitted bowl of a standing mixer (or hand mixer), combine the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract, and mix until peaks form. Refrigerate the whipped cream.

To Prepare The Strawberries:

Rinse, stem and cut he strawberries into quarters. Place the berries into a mixing bowl.

To Serve:

Mix the strawberry sauce into the bowl of cut strawberries, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Split the baked shortcakes in half, horizontally, to make two pieces:a top and bottom. Place the bottom onto serving plates. Top the shortcake bottoms with a scoop of strawberry mixture, continued by a large dollop of whipping cream. Top the whipping cream with another spoon-full of strawberries and strawberry juice. Sprinkle the shortcake top with powdered sugar and place on top of shortcake. Serve!