Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Sauce

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups cold whipping cream

Fresh Strawberry Sauce

• 1 pint basket California strawberries (12 ounces), stemmed and halved
• Sugar to taste
• 1 pint basket California strawberries (12 ounces), stemmed and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with sugar, to taste
• Mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. To make shortcakes, in bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Gently stir with fork, gradually mix in cream until just combined. Mixture should barely hold together. With hands, form dough into six balls; place 3 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in center of oven 25 to 30 minutes until light golden brown, cool on baking sheet. Meanwhile, to make Fresh Strawberry Sauce, in blender, purée the halved strawberries until smooth. Sweeten to taste with sugar; cover and set aside. Split shortcakes horizontally. Divide sauce among six dessert plates; top each with a shortcake bottom, 1/4-cup sliced strawberries and ¼-cup whipped cream. Cover with shortcake tops. Spoon remaining strawberries and whipped cream over shortcakes, dividing equally. Garnish with mint sprigs. Yield: Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Information

662 calories; 45 g fat; 163 mg cholesterol; 679 mg sodium; 60 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 7 g protein.