Cream Short-Cake

Ingredients

• 1 quart fine white flour
• 3 tbsp cold butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp water

Method

Rub cold butter into sifted flour until the mixture is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs — this pastry technique coats each flour particle with fat, which later creates steam pockets and tender layers. The size matters: you want flakes you can see, not a paste. Add salt and caster sugar and mix through.

Whisk the egg into the sour cream until combined, then pour into the dry ingredients. Dissolve the baking soda in 1 tbsp cold water — this will activate immediately when it meets the acid in the sour cream, producing carbon dioxide that lifts the cake. Add this mixture to the bowl at once. Fold everything together with a spatula until just combined; do not overwork. The dough should come together rough and shaggy. Overworking develops gluten, which toughens the crumb and works against the tender, quick-breads|quick-bread structure you want here.

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, gently press each half into a round roughly 1 cm thick — do not roll aggressively. The gentle handling preserves the air pockets the baking soda has begun creating. Transfer each round to an ungreased pie tin or cake tin.

Bake at 200°C for 20–25 minutes. The cake is ready when the surface is deep golden and springs back immediately when pressed lightly on the dome; the edges will pull slightly from the tin. A skewer inserted into the thickest part should come out clean.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Split each cake horizontally using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion — it will be delicate and prone to crumble. Layer with whipped cream and soft fruit: strawberries, raspberries, or peaches work best. Assemble close to serving; the moisture from the fruit will begin to soften the cake within 30 minutes.