It’s a good time of year when strawberries are finally in season. Since the weather has been pretty dreary for the past week, what better way to brighten up our day than with bright, fresh, flavorful strawberries? When we were younger, my dad would always make strawberry shortcakes for us as soon as strawberry season arrived. There was nothing better than the flaky biscuit topped with the sweet strawberry mixture and of course, plenty of whipped cream.

Instead of doing a standard strawberry shortcake, I wanted to add an unexpected flavor to the mix. My mom makes a strawberry rhubarb crisp which includes basil…the unexpected pop of flavor from the basil is delicious and the floral notes compliment the strawberries beautifully. Since I have a tendency to put my own twist on things when I bake, I threw some chopped up crystallized ginger into the shortcake batter, figuring it would pair well with the basil and strawberries.

The ginger is perfect with the strawberry topping, and it adds an unexpected and twist to the flaky shortcake biscuits. The spicy-sweet ginger compliments the sweetness of the strawberries and basil and ups the ante on this classic summer dessert.

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Strawberry Basil Shortcakes

For the shortcakes:

1 cup self rising flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cold butter

3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped

1/3 cup milk, plus additional milk for brushing the tops of the biscuits

Turbinado sugar

For the topping:

1 pound strawberries, sliced

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup basil, chopped

Whipped cream

For the shortcakes:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the ginger until combined. Add the milk and stir with a fork just until dough starts to come together.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and knead gently until smooth, about five to seven times. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thickness. With a 2 3/4” diameter biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet, 1 inch apart. You should get about six rounds out of the dough. Brush the tops of each round with a little milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

For the topping:

Combine the strawberries, sugar, and basil in a bowl and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes as the juices develop. To serve, slice each biscuit lengthwise, spoon the topping over the bottom half, top with the second half of the biscuit, and serve with plenty of whipped cream. Biscuits can be served warm or room temperature.

Serves: 6