Clotted cream shortcake

[Dan Lepard]

Clotted cream shortcake

Yes, clotted cream is pricy but mixing it into the dough makes this shortcake much lighter, crisper and utterly delicious. Strawberries cost pennies this time of year so you'll save on that.

300g plain flour
50g caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
75g unsalted butter, softened
100ml cold milk
225g cold clotted cream
a large punnet of small strawberries
300ml double cream
extra flour, milk and sugar to finish

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter in a bowl and rub the butter through until it disappears. Stir the clotted cream and milk together so the cream breaks up a little then pour this into the flour and stir together to a smooth light dough. Line a tray with non-stick baking parchment and divide the dough into two parts, one very slightly larger than the other. Flour your hands and pat the dough out on the tray so that both are about 2cm thick and neat at the edges. Brush with milk and dredge with sugar. Heat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/425°F/gas 7 and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool then trim the tops and using the large shortcake as the base fill and top with the hulled and halved strawberries and softly whipped double cream, both lightly sweetened with sugar.

[Jacqueline]

This looks fantastic and I can't wait to make it in about 6-8 weeks when sweet strawberries from Queensland become cheaper. Sorry to ask an ingredient question, but...as far as I know clotted cream is not readily available in Australia. At least, I've never seen it in a supermarket or delicatessen. Double cream is around. Is it OK to use more double cream in place of clotted, or is there no alternative to the real thing?

Jacqueline