My Auntie Vera and Uncle Johnny lived in a small house on a large piece of property in a rural area near North Judson, Indiana. They were my dad’s aunt and uncle. Through my child eyes, they seemed old enough to be grandparents. They had no children of their own, though, so they loved spoiling me and my brother. My favorite time to visit them was during strawberry season. I knew I could look forward to Auntie Vera’s delicious strawberry shortcake.
Before we arrived, she would pick the fresh, sweet berries from her large garden. After cleaning and slicing them, she would sprinkle them lightly with sugar and let them sit out on the kitchen counter until dessert time. Her homemade shortcakes would be cooling on a rack on the counter right beside the strawberries.
My Auntie Vera and Uncle Johnny lived in a small house on a large piece of property in a rural area near North Judson, Indiana. They were my dad’s aunt and uncle. Through my child eyes, they seemed old enough to be grandparents. They had no children of their own, though, so they loved spoiling me and my brother. My favorite time to visit them was during strawberry season. I knew I could look forward to Auntie Vera’s delicious strawberry shortcake.
Before we arrived, she would pick the fresh, sweet berries from her large garden. After cleaning and slicing them, she would sprinkle them lightly with sugar and let them sit out on the kitchen counter until dessert time. Her homemade shortcakes would be cooling on a rack on the counter right beside the strawberries.
As we gathered around the little table in their tiny kitchen, she would crumble the tender biscuit-like mounds into cereal bowls. She would spoon the strawberries with their sweet syrup over the broken cakes. A pitcher of rich whole milk would go on the table. We’d each pour some over our dessert and then spoon some freshly whipped cream over that. It was such a happy time.
I’ve been thinking of that strawberry shortcake this week. With fresh rhubarb from the farmers market in my refrigerator, I decided to make my own version of a shortcake that would be topped with a rhubarb-strawberry sauce.
These tender shortcakes are baked in mounds. Just the right richness from butter (Auntie Vera’s were made with lard), the perfect amount of sugary sweetness and a little bit of tang from buttermilk and yogurt. Oh, and some crunch from broken pecans. The ones that don’t get eaten for dessert with the sauce are wonderful with the first cup of morning coffee.
The 1/2 cup sugar in the shortcakes included 2 tablespoons of Ginger Cinnamon Sugar that I order from Mrs. Kelly’s Teas. It adds just the right amount of spicy flavor. If you want to add that flavor on your own, add a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger to the batter.
This Rhubarb-Strawberry Shortcake is not the exact dessert I remember eating in the small, cozy kitchen with Auntie Vera and Uncle Johnny. But, it truly is divine.
Rhubarb-Strawberry Shortcake
Sauce:
2 cups chopped (1-inch) fresh rhubarb
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sliced strawberries
Shortcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
First, make sauce. In a medium-sized heavy saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar and orange juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is tender and mixture is thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract and strawberries. Set aside.
Make shortcakes by placing flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and grated orange zest in a mixing bowl. Stir to mix. You can also put the ingredients in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Add butter and use pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. If you are using food processor, pulse the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Transfer mixture from food processor to a large mixing bowl.
Stir pecans into mixture in bowl.
In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, mix yogurt and buttermilk. Pour into mixture in large mixing bowl. Stir until just combined.
Drop mounds of batter (1/4 cup each) onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake shortcakes for about 20 minutes, until they are puffed and golden. Transfer to a cooling rack.
For each serving, crumble one shortcake into a dessert bowl. Ladle rhubarb-strawberry sauce over the crumbled shortcake. Top with lots of whipped cream. Makes 12 to 13 dessert servings.
Sue Doeden is a popular cooking instructor, food writer and integrative nutrition health coach. She is the host of Good Food, Good Life 365 on Lakeland Public Television. Her own hives full of hardworking bees and her love of honey led to the creation of her recently published cookbook, Homemade with Honey.