Strawberry Shortcake with an Amazing Citrusy Flourish

This vintage Strawberry Shortcake delivers on the classic with a fantastic level up using the tantalizing citrus flavors of orange and lemon.

It is no doubt that Strawberry Shortcake is very solidly a summertime dessert classic. There is just something so comforting and nostalgic about a slightly salty/slightly sweet buttery biscuit smothered in syrupy strawberries and mounds of whipped cream. This dessert is definitely in my top ten favorites!

So, when I picked three bucketsful of strawberries at a local farm with the intent of making a bunch of wartime strawberry recipes, Strawberry Shortcake was definitely on the list.

What I wasn’t expecting was to find a shortcake recipe with the unassuming name of “Special Strawberry Shortcake” in my May 1943 copy of Health-for-Victory Meal Planning Guide.

What piqued my interest was that it used orange juice for the liquid in the shortcakes instead of milk. Plus, it used lemon extract! I’ve never tried a shortcake recipe with this flavor profile before, so this sounded exciting!

This recipe is indeed very special, and has now become one of my favorite versions. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to plain Jane shortcakes after this!

One tip: You’ll want to double this recipe. Even if you run out of strawberries for the shortcake, these biscuits would taste amazing with butter and strawberry jam!

Things you might need to make Citrusy Strawberry Shortcake

• mixing bowl
• sieve
• measuring spoons and cups
• mixing spoon or dough whisk
• pastry cutter
• rolling pin
• large biscuit cutter (I love this set by Hearth & Hand with Magnolia)
• pastry brush
• cookie sheet
• parchment paper

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour, sifted: I like to pre-sift the flour in advance and sift a little extra to make measuring the flour easier. Don’t skip this step as the sifting gives fluffiness to the shortcakes. Additionally, sifted flour incorporates more easily when mixing.

• Baking Powder: I like aluminum-free like Bob’s Red Mill.

• Salt: You might notice my salt is a reddish color. I love using Redmond’s Real Rock Salt for flavor and added minerals!

• Sugar: This recipe uses just a smidge. Use white sugar to keep the color of the shortcakes light in color.

• Shortening: Shortening can mean several things in wartime recipes. It can literally mean shortening like Crisco. Or it can mean any saturated fat that stays solid at room temperature like butter or lard. It’s your call. I used Crisco in this recipe, but I’ve liked using Spectrum shortening in the past.

• Eggs: I used medium eggs because that’s what my hens lay generally. If you use large eggs, you’ll might need to adjust the liquid depending on how humid it is where you live and how large the eggs are. It doesn’t specify egg size in the original recipe, but the medium eggs seemed to work fine with the liquid amounts given.

• Orange Juice: Fresh squeezed, from concentrate, or not. With or without pulp. Any kind works!

• Lemon Extract: Make sure it’s extract and not lemon flavoring.
• Sliced, Sweetened Strawberries: It’s your call how many strawberries you want to cut up for this recipe and how sweet you want them. I like to just sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over 2-3 cups of strawberries. The sugar draws out the juices and you don’t need very sugar to accomplish this! If you want them to stay on the tart side, you can even add a splash of lemon juice.

How to make Citrus Strawberry Shortcake

1. Sift together the pre-sifted flour (Yes, I know! More sifting!), baking powder, salt, and sugar.

2. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Beat 1 egg plus the egg yolk of the other egg and combine with the orange juice and lemon extract. Reserve the egg white for brushing the tops of the shortcakes later. The egg yolk/OJ mixture will be a lovely sunny yellow color.

4. Add the egg yolk/orange juice mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

5. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead for 10 – 20 strokes until the dough comes together.

6. Roll the dough out to 1/2″ thickness and cut using a large biscuit cutter. There should be enough dough to make 6 biscuits.

7. Brush the tops with the egg white and sprinkle them with white sugar. Bake at 425°F for 12 minutes or until the tops are just starting to turn golden on the edges. These smell amazing while they’re baking, by the way!

8. To serve the vintage way, split hot biscuits in half and spread with a thin layer of butter. After that, fill with sweetened strawberries, replace the top of the shortcake, and layer on more sweetened strawberries. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream on top.