Chocolate! Strawberries! Bananas! Need I say more?

Last night I wanted to make something a little different. These strawberry shortcakes really worked out. I mixed it up a little and added sliced bananas to the strawberries and I also used miniature chocolate chips in the shortcakes. The shortcakes were light and flaky and really soaked up the juice of the strawberry mixture well. They weren't hard to make and the whole snack came together in no time. They had just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy a sweet tooth. It was really a good find. This is another keeper for my recipe box.


Strawberry-Chocolate Chip Shortcakes

Shortcakes:
1/2 Cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 Cups flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Filling and cream
7 Cups sliced strawberries
1/3 Cup sugar
2 Cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs powder sugar

1. Heat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In small bowl, whisk together 1/2 Cup cream, egg and 1 tsp vanilla

3. In large bowl, whisk together flour, 2 tbs sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in 1/2 Cup butter until butter is the size of blueberries. There will be loose flour. Stir in cream mixture just until soft dough forms. Stir in bitterweet chocolate chips.

4. On lightly floured surface, gently knead dough several times until smooth, incorporating any loose flour. Pat dough into 9: round 3/4 " thick. With 3" round cutter, cut out 8 shortcakes; place on baking sheet.

5. Bake 15 minutes or until edges and bottoms are light golden brown. Cool on wire rack 15 minutes; serve warm or cool.

6. Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar; let stand 30 minutes.

7. In large, beat 2 cups cream, 1 tsp vanilla and powder sugar at medium high speed until firm but no stiff peaks form.

8. Cut shortcakes in half horizontally, place bottom halves on individual plates. Top with strawberries, whipped cream and shortcake tops. Refrigerate left overs.

Source: Cooking Pleasures Magazine