Recipe: Inn of the Seventh Ray’s Strawberry Shortcake

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Today on Good Food, Laura Avery interviews Chef Brad Miller of the Inn of the Seventh Ray. Chef Miller has an updated version of everyone’s favorite – Strawberry Shortcake. Instead of whipped cream he uses agave sweetened yogurt and he also serves the dessert with a dollop of lemon curd. Also – check out his cool technique for simulating a Cryovac with a Ziploc bag at home. Keep reading for his full recipe…

(Photo Credit: David Karp) (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Inn of the Seventh Ray’s Strawberry Shortcake

From Chef Bradley Miller

Berries
355 grams Harrys Berries (Seascapes) cleaned and top removed
40 grams  Raw Sugar if berries are already pretty sweet you dont have to add this. But with seascapes you tend to need a little.
1 vaccum seal bag or if you dont have a vacuum sealer use a Ziploc bag.

In a bowl toss the strawberries and suger together and let stand at room temperature for several hours. Place strawberries in vaccum bag and seal on high. Once compressed refrigerate overnight.

Ziploc Bag- Place strawberries in a ziploc bag and remove all air pockets from bag. Push all the strawberries to the bottom of the bag and wrap the remainder of the bag around itself. place in a Tupperware container with a pound of weight evenly distributed over the berries in the bag. This will slowly compress them and juices will form. Refrigerate overnight.

Lemon Curd

5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Method for Curd

In a steel bowl whisk together all the ingredients except the butter. Bring a pot of water to slow simmer and put the steel bowl on it whisking all the way. (You don’t want it to curdle.) You need to make sure the size of your pot and the steel bowl is such that it fits right in. Once the mixture thickens, and it coats the back of the spoon, take it off the pot. Add in the slab of butter and whisk well so the butter melts into the mixture. Let cool and transfer to a clean jar.  Put cling film on it before closing the lid and refrigerate overnight. It keeps up to a week.

Yogurt and Agave
245 grams plain yogurt
Agave to taste


In a metal bowl whisk agave into the yogurt until the desired sweetness is reached. I prefer very little….but then again I do not like sweet desserts.

Yellow Cake
We make our own but any store bought yellow cake mix will do.
3 cups (330 g) cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces or 230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (454 g) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 fluid ounces or 300 ml buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and line with parchment paper two 8×2-inch (20×5-cm) pans. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cut up the butter into 1-inch pieces and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.

Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.

Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top to burst any air bubbles, allowing the batter to settle.

Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.