Friday, October 13, 2006

Double Cream - Doubly Delicious

A few weeks ago I posted about Elgaar Farm Club Cheddar and I thought I'd revisit them to focus on another of their products - double cream.

double cream

The first question you might be asking is What is double Cream? Well, the answer is not for the fat phobics so you might want to look away for a while. Double cream contains more than 48% butterfat, in the case of this cream it runs in close to 52%. Butterfat is extracted from the milk using a centrifugal process - the longer this process the thicker and richer the cream.

double cream

Opening the jar, you'll immediately notice the difference. The deep yellow colour and almost buttery appearance. This cream doesn't need whipping, it should be used as is - in fact if you whipped it a little too much you would end up with butter. Tastewise, it's almost like ice-cream without being frozen.

spooning

It has a marvellous scoopable quality, thick honey like characters that make it slightly gelatinous. It truly is something that should be savoured as is with the minimum amount of fuss.

So thinking about how best to show this double cream I decided on something very simple, clean flavours where the quality of the cream will be able to shine through. What else but Strawberry Shortcakes!

shortcakes

Strawberry Shortcakes
[Makes 10]

Shortcakes:
200 grams plain flour
100 grams rice flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons caster sugar
125 grams butter, cut into cubes
1 egg, lightly whisked
150ml milk

To serve:
250 grams strawberries, hulled and diced
2 teaspoons icing sugar
double cream
icing sugar, extra for dusting


Prepare the strawberries:
Place the diced strawberries into a bowl, sprinkle over with icing sugar. Stir well and set aside.

Make the shortcakes:
In a processor, add the flour, rice flour, baking powder, sugar and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Whisk the egg with the milk add to the processor and pulse again until the mixture comes together.

Turn out onto a board and knead briefly just until the dough comes together. Press out to form a disc. Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge to rest at least an hour or even overnight.

Roll the dough out until it's 2-3 cms thick (about an inch). Cut into rounds and place these onto baking paper lined trays. Brush the tops with a little milk.

This dough will make about 10, 5cm/2 inch rounds.

Cook in a preheated 160°C/320°F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Cool slightly before placing on wire racks.

Assemble the dish:
Slice the shortcakes in half, top with a good dollop of double cream before topping with diced strawberries and a little of the juices that have been released. Dust the tops with icing sugar before placing it on top of the filling. Serve immediately.

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8 comments

  1. I bought double cream once by accident to have with my pancakes (I'd wanted thin cream to whip)...I decided to use it anyway without whipping...I still remember opening that container and feeling my arteries tremble with fear and delight at the sight of that stuff. The addition of this to your strawberry shortcakes must make them dangerously good!

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  2. Ellie - that would be the kind of mistake you'd like to make more often and kinda on purpose ;)

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  3. Aaaah this is looking goood(!)
    Really mouth-watering last picture…can’t wait to try! =)

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  4. Strawberry shortcakes are an excellent choice!

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  5. Nice one. It's hard to get double cream around here, but that's probably for the best!

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  6. oh wow....strawberry shortcakes with double cream...worth getting my arteries clogged up...

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  7. Haalo,

    Hello! :P I love your blog! Every entry is informative and all of your food is lovely!

    Just wanna ask where can I buy the double cream that you got? :) Not from normal supermarket I suppose? :P

    BTW, I have linked your site to my new-born blog! Thanks!

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  8. Thanks Julia - hope you get to make some soon!

    Thanks Brilynn - the cream really made them special

    Sara - you have to spoil yourself every now and again

    Nabeela - you've got it right. We all deserve the indulgence!

    Hi White Poplar - welcome to food blogging, it's good to see another melbourne blog coming online. If you are able to get to Prahran Market both Ripe and Organic Elements sell this cream but Organic Elements is cheaper. I think Macro Wholefoods sells it too. Thanks so much for the link, I'm happy to know that you've been enjoying the site!

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