Makes 9

Nothing beats a bowl of British strawberries but if you are entertaining or fancy a change try this take on strawberry shortcakes. It’s easy to make and baked like a giant tear & share scone and not too dissimilar to an American biscuit. Best eaten once cool on the day they are made.

Method

1. Place the strawberries into a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar. Set them aside at room temperature to macerate
2. Preheat the oven and a baking tray to 200°C
3. In a large bowl mix the remaining sugar with the flour
4. Add the cubes of butter and using your hands rub the butter thoroughly into the dry mixture until it resembles sand
5. With a large spoon mix 200g of yogurt into the flour then gently mix in the sparkling water until it just comes together, don’t over mix
6. Tip the very sticky dough onto a sheet of baking paper and with a spoon press down to form a even square of about 20cm; again don’t overwork the mixture
7. With a large knife make firm cuts like a naughts and crosses grid into 9 but don’t try to separate; keep the dough stuck together to bake as one large square
8. Slide the baking paper onto the hot oven tray and bake for 18 to 20 minutes
9. Remove from the oven and slide the big shortcake off the paper onto a wire rack to cool completely
10. Once cool gently separate the shortcakes and split each one and fill with the remaining yogurt and macerated strawberries

Recipe by Charlotte Simpkins for Freely Fruity