Drunken Strawberry Shortcake With Lazy Cream

The shortcakes in this dish are cream biscuits, and are great just as they are, without strawberries and whipping cream. Or add currants to the dough (in the 'fold' cycle of the recipe) and they're scones for tea.

Ingredients for shortcake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 T granulated sugar
1 stick butter, chilled, cut up into small pieces
2/3 to 3/4 cup, or more of cream (or half and half, or milk), plus more for brushing tops of shortcakes

Ingredients for strawberries:
1 quart of strawberries
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup of Grand Marnier

Ingredients for whipped or lazy cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 T powdered sugar

Preparing the shortcakes:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Set rack at center level.

In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and pulse to mix. Cut butter into about very small pieces and add to the mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with few pea-size chunks of butter left in the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork stir in the cream or milk, just until dough is moist. Be very careful not to overwork. The dough doesn't have to hold together well at this point. Let the dough stand for a minute. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over on itself (knead) 2 or 3 times, until it is holding together and is less sticky.

Gently pat the dough into a 6-inch by 12-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and cut into 8 3-inch biscuits with a floured round cutter. Transfer to a buttered foil-lined cookie sheet. Brush on a little milk or cream and sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar or any large grained sugar, if desired.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Remove to a platter to cool.

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Preparing the strawberries:
Rinse the strawberries under cold water and drain well. Hull and slice the berries; place in a bowl. Sprinkle the powdered sugar over the strawberries, and let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Pour Grand Marnier over the top of the strawberries and swirl bowl gently to mix and dissolve the powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 4 hours) before serving.

When ready to serve, take bowl out of refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

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Preparing the whipping cream:
Whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the vanilla and the sugar, and continue whipping until the cream holds soft peaks. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Assembling the strawberry shortcake:
Split a shortcake horizontally with a serrated knife and place the bottom half of the shortcake on a serving plate. Spoon about 1/3 cup of strawberry mixture on the bottom half of the shortcake. Put a dollop of whipped cream on top of the berries, replace the top of the shortcake and spoon more whipped cream over the top of the shortcake along with a few more of the strawberries. Dust some powdered sugar over the top of the plate.

Repeat with the rest of the shortcakes.

Serves 8