Strawberry Shortcake Tombstones

A staple dessert, but with a gothic twist

I am not going to lie to you, I am not a baker. I used a shortcake recipe from NY Times Cooking. I also know that they charge for their recipes… so here it is!

Ingredients

• 2 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 butter

• 3 cups whipping cream

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 lemon - juice

• 1/2 cup water

Shortcake recipe

1. Into a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add 3/4 cup of softened butter, and rub into dry ingredients as for pastry. Add 1 1/4 cups cream, and mix to a soft dough. Knead the dough for one minute.

2. Use a little of the butter to grease the molds (Pay attention to the deeper and smaller areas of the mold to avoid burning). Stuff the molds and leave space for the dough to rise, about 1/2 inch should suffice. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

3. Flip the biscuits out of the molds and allow them to cool.

Strawberry Jam

1. Take 1 pint of washed strawberries and quarter them

2. Put them into a saucepan with 1/2 cup of sugar and half of a lemon’s juice and 1/2 cup of water

3. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to keep the mixture from burning

4. Drop the heat to medium-hot, and as the strawberries soften use your spoon to mash down the fruit

5. Once the mixture reaches your desired consistency remove from heat an allow to cool

6. Once cool, pour the mixture into a piping bag

Whipped Cream

1. Pour remaining cream and vanilla into a mixing bowl, or stand mixer

2. Beat until thick soft peaks begin to form

3. Pour the cream into a piping bag

Assembling the cakes

1. Take the 2nd pint of washed strawberries and dice into small pieces

2. Gently, but quickly, cut the tombstone cakes in half (Don’t fret if they crumble, the cream will hold it all together)

3. Using your piping bag, spread the cream and jam on both sides of the tombstones

4. Sprinkle the diced strawberries on one side of the tombstone cakes and sandwich both sides together

Enjoy!