Classic Strawberry Shortcake � Thanks, Grandpa!

I was visiting my mom last summer, and overheard her and my aunt talking about making strawberry shortcake using �dad�s� recipe. They were obviously talking about my grandfather, which was surprising, since I had no idea he baked.

I remember he did a lot of cooking growing up, but it was things like frittata, meat sauce, or polenta. I never once saw him bake anything sweet. Nevertheless, he apparently gets credit for inventing our official family recipe for strawberry shortcake, which I�ve adapted here.

What he had done was taken the strawberry shortcake recipe off the box of a certain, very popular premade biscuit mix, and added extra �everything,� as my mother put it. So, that�s what I did here, except instead of using the stuff in the yellow box, I used self-rising flour, which I�m pretty sure is basically the same thing.

The only other major change is the original recipe calls for regular melted butter, but as you�ll see in the video, I like to toast mine just a little, to bring out those subtle, nutty flavors. I'm hoping Armand Cianfoni would approve. I really hope you give �our� strawberry shortcake a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 6 Large or 8 Normal Strawberry Shortcakes:

2 cups self rising flour ((You can make you own by sifting together 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon fine salt)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

4 tbsp butter, melted, and lightly toasted to a golden-brown

4 pints fresh strawberries

1/2 cup white sugar

*add 1 tbsp water, if strawberries aren�t perfectly ripe

3/4 cup cold heavy cream, whipped with a tablespoon of sugar and a few drops of vanilla (watch demo here)

- Bake at 425F.  for 15-18 minutes or until browned.