CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 17 Made in America: Part II | Page 101

STRAWBERRY CHAMPAGNE JAM SHORTCAKE 1 pints ripe, well-rinsed strawberries ½ cup sugar, or more to taste 4 cups flour 3 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 5 teaspoons baking powder 1 ¼ cups shortening 3 cups whipping cream ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 jar Kansas City Canning Co. Strawberry Champagne Jam Optional: 2 sprigs of fresh mint, stems removed Streusel Topping ½ cup sugar ½ cup flour 3 tablespoons butter, softened Remove stems from strawberries and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Fold in ½ cup of sugar. Set aside and allow strawberries to mac- erate. Optional: Chop mint leaves and mix into strawberry – sugar mixture to add a bit of freshness. Preheat oven to 450F degrees. For the streusel topping, combine sugar, butter and softened butter. Com- bine into a crumb. Sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Combine ¾ cups of butter and gently combine until crumbs form. Add 1 1/4 cups cream, gently mix to a soft dough. Knead the dough briefly on a lightly floured surface, doing your best to keep some of the crumb for texture. Roll out to a ½ inch thickness. Cut +/- 3-inch rounds. Grease a baking sheet with shortening. Melt a small amount of butter. Coat tops of shortcakes with melted butter. Spread streusel topping on each of the shortcakes. Bake for 10-15 minutes until tops of cakes are golden brown. Remove cakes from oven. Allow to cool before pulling each of them apart. Whip remaining cream until it thickens. Incorporate vanilla and whip again until peaks form. On the bottom half of the scoop a dollop of Kansas City Can- ning Co. Strawberry Champagne Jam and a hearty dollop of whipped cream. Place top of shortcake onto whip cream. Add a scoop of the macerated Straw- berry on top of the shortcake. Top with another dollop of whipped cream. Take the cake to the face. PHOTO CREDIT: Pat McCroy © Hundred-to-One LLC 2018. All rights reserved.