Polenta gives this shortcake recipe a bit of solidity to prevent too much crumbling. Coupled with British strawberries and cream this is a summer treat.
Ingredients
- 125g butter, very soft, plus extra for greasing
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100g self-raising flour, sifted
- 25g polenta
- Grated zest of 1/2 lemon or a very scant scraping of vanilla seeds
For the filling
- 200ml double cream
- 400g strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered, plus a few halved strawberries, to decorate
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and base line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking paper.
- 2. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Gently fold in the sifted flour along with the polenta and lemon zest or vanilla seeds. Divide between the cake tins, spread evenly and bake for 25 minutes. Cool the cakes completely before turning them out of the tins.
- 3. Make the filling. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then gently fold in the strawberries. Use to sandwich the cakes together. Dust the top with icing sugar and decorate with the halved strawberries.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 385kcals, 27.2g fat (16.3g saturated), 4.2g protein, 32.9g carbs, 21.4g sugar, 0.4g salt
Chef's tip
You can substitute polenta for semolina, or just use flour.
Wine Recommendation
Serve with a light, fresh and sparkling ice cold Italian Asti.