* When I make the shortcakes, I like to use about half all-purpose flour (1 cup) and half whole-wheat pastry flour (1 cup + 2 tablespoons), but you can certainly use all all-purpose flour. If you do want to incorporate some whole-wheat flour into the mix for added fiber and nutrients, I’d recommend using the more finely milled whole-wheat
pastry flour, and not substituting it for more than half of the total flour amount (i.e., not using more than 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of whole-wheat pastry flour), because using more than that might throw off the ratios of flour to liquid (whole-wheat flour tends to absorb more liquid than white flour) and alter the final results of the recipe.
** I use half-and-half, because I always have half-and-half in my fridge for coffee. Alternatively, you could use roughly equal amounts of heavy cream and whole milk to equal ½ cup total, if that’s what you have on hand.
*** This amount of Greek yogurt (with 2 tablespoons of sugar) is the amount that the boys and I have come to agree upon as the ideal ratio of yogurt to cream to sugar that satisfies the taste buds of all four of us; it is neither too tart nor too sweet for us. However, you can omit the yogurt altogether if you prefer; just keep in mind that the whipped cream will not keep well and thus it will need to be served immediately. If you want to make the whipped cream ahead of time but don’t want to use Greek yogurt, you can add a small amount of sour cream or crème fraîche to stabilize it for up to 24 hours, as I explained in
this post. Or… if you really love the tang of yogurt in the whipped cream and/or want to lighten it up even more, you can increase the amount of Greek yogurt to as much as equal amounts of yogurt and cream. You might need to adjust the amount of sugar and/or vanilla to get it to your liking, but this recipe is a good place to start.
Recipe adapted from
How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking, by Nigella Lawson. Method for making shortcakes adapted from
Everyday Food magazine, May/June 2003.