Red and white are the colours of the Canadian flag, making strawberries and whipped cream a perfect fit to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, July 1st.
But truthfully this is a lovely summertime treat for any occasion as long as fresh local berries are available. Changing out the fruit for blackberries or raspberries works and mixing strawberries up with bananas or rhubarb is also a tasty option, best served fresh.
Strawberries are considered an attraction food while whipping cream is connected to prosperity, something to keep in mind while putting the shortcakes together.
You will need:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. oil
3/4 cup greek yoghurt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg
1/3 cup strawberries
1/3 cup finely chopped strawberries ( optional )
Topping One:
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup whipping cream
sugar to taste
Topping Two:
1 – 3 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped strawberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add oil, yoghurt, lemon juice, egg, sugar and 1/3 cup strawberries to a blender.
Pulse until smooth.
Sift the dry ingredients together; flour, soda and salt.
Prepare the doughnut pan. I used a spray coconut oil and then dusted with flour as I find this is the one pan that is easier spraying than greasing.
Generally speaking I am not personally, a great fan of baking with strawberries. I find they loose much of their flavour baked. For this recipe I blended 1/3 cup of strawberries into the batter and then finely chopped an additional 1/3 cup that was gently folded into the batter to give the doughnuts an extra punch of flavour.
If you choose to do this as well, there are a several of things to keep in mind.
There will be more batter. Store the extra in the fridge as the first batch of doughnuts bake.
The strawberries will create holes in the doughnuts as they cook and shrink. Not a problem, just an awareness. As they get turned into shortcakes, the fruit and whipping cream will cover the holes.
The bag that is used to pipe the batter into the mould will need to be a little wider to accommodate the fruit pieces.
Fold the wet and dry ingredients together and then transfer to a piping bag or a sandwich bag. If using a sandwich bag, close the seal and then cut of a corner for piping.
When making doughnuts, it is important not to get too much batter in the pan as it will grow over the middle section and the hole will be lost, so keep to about 3/4’s filled.
The nice thing though it that if you are making shortcake bottoms, that is not an issue. You want the doughnuts to fill in so that they can hold the fruit.
Bake for 7 – 9 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing the doughnuts and allowing them to cool completely.
Wash pan and repeat with the remaining batter.
To finish the shortcakes, wash and slice additional strawberries, toss in a little sugar if needed and allow to sit for an hour or so to pull out the juices. Whip the whipping cream with sugar to taste. Place a doughnut on a plate, spoon 1/3 cup fresh strawberries on top of the doughnut cup along with a little juice and finish with a spoonful of whipped cream.
Strawberry Shortcake Doughnuts from My Kitchen Wand
To finish off the doughnuts with a strawberry glaze, stir 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries into 1 cup icing sugar. Take a look at the consistency you have and add up to 2 cups of icing sugar to achieve the look you would like.
In the picture below, the middle doughnut has only 1 cup of icing sugar in the glaze and the front and center one has three cups of icing sugar added to the glaze. It is important to remember that the sugar will draw out the juices of the fresh strawberries making the glaze thinner. If you are looking for a glaze that is opaque and will harden, a couple more cups of icing sugar will need to be added.
An alternate thought is to use strawberry jam instead of fresh ones and a little milk to make the icing sugar glaze and that issue can be avoided.
So if you are looking for something in season to celebrate with, try adding either of these fresh strawberry doughnut options to the picnic table.
Strawberry Doughnuts from My Kitchen Wand
