Eggless Strawberry Shortcake

Preheat the oven to 425 F or 220 C.

Cut the strawberries, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar (based on the sweetness of the fresh fruit) mash it up a little with a fork and refrigerate it.

Mix all the dry ingredients and cut the cold butter into pieces and mix with the dry ingredients.

Mash up the butter and dry ingredients with a fork or butter knife to attain a grainy consistency. Small pieces of butter here and there is perfectly fine.

Make a well in the centre and add the quarter cup of heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix it with a Ladle (Do not use your hands yet) and knead it into a dough. You may add couple more tablespoons of heavy cream if necessary to form a dough. Knead it with your hands just so that it forms a smooth dough and refrigerate immediately.

After 10 minutes, bring the dough out and roll it into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Cut them into 8 equal parts, place them on the baking tray 2 or 3 inches apart, brush them with heavy cream and sprinkle granulated sugar on top.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 425 F / 220 C.

Do not touch the flaky cakes when hot, it may crumble. Once it cools down, carefully split them into two using a sharp knife.

Let them cool completely now. Once cooled, add a spoonful of strawberries (along with the juices that has oozed out) and dollops of whipped cream on the lower layer of the cake and cover it up with the top layer (like a sandwich).

The flaky cake combined with strawberry and cream tastes great.