Magazine Monday #2: Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe is from the June issue of Canadian Living, a magazine I've subscribed to for several years now, and a magazine I grew up with because my mother subscribed to it, too. I can't tell you how much I love getting this in my mail every month. The recipes are always reliable and pretty much foolproof, and there are tons of ideas in each issue that can inspire you do to your own experimentation.

I made these chocolate biscuits for the dessert that finished off our fish & chips meal. The original recipe calls for ice cream and chocolate sauce as an accompaniment, but I stuck with sweetened whipped cream and didn't bother with chocolate sauce. It was a good thing, too; the meal needed to end on a slightly lighter note after such a hearty feast.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

3 cups sliced strawberries
1 1/2 cups cold whipping cream
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Chocolate Biscuits (makes 8 - 9)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp each baking soda and salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1tsp vanilla

1. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk.
2. Cut in butter until crumbly.
3. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, stirring to make a soft dough.
4. With lightly floured hands, press dough into a ball. Knead gently about 10 times. Pat into 1" disk. Using 3" round cutters, cut out rounds. Place on parchment-lined sheet.
5. Bake at 400F for 15 - 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

When you're ready to serve, slice the biscuits in half with a serrated knife. Place strawberries on the bottom half, then a generous dollop of whipped cream on top of that, then top with the other half of the biscuit. Voila!

NB: the picture of the finished product above is light on the strawberries and heavier on the whipped cream because this was my serving and I'm not the hugest fan of strawberries.