Can I Make One Large Strawberry Shortcake?

Our answer

NIgella's Strawberry Shortcakes (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) are light, buttery, scone-like cakes that are delicious served slightly warm and split and filled with fruit and whipped cream. Nigella's recipe makes 8 shortcakes, each about 6.5cm (2 1/2 inches) in diameter.

We suspect that the mixture could be baked as one large shortcake. However, as the shortcakes are very tender and crumbly, we would mention that trying to move a large version on to a cooling rack and then a plate, split it in half, fill it and then replace the top without any of the shortcake breaking up or crumbling will be quite tricky, so it may be easier to stick with the individual shortcakes. The mixture should be enough to make a round about 22cm (9 inches) in diameter and 2cm (3/4 inch) thick and you should pat the mixture together firmly into a round on a lined baking sheet. The oven is very hot, so after the first 10 minutes of baking, you will probably need to turn it down to around 190c/170c Fan/375F, to prevent the base from burning, and bake for a further 10-20 minutes, until the shortcake is risen, golden on top and looks baked through. Cool slightly on a wire rack before serving. And please note that as we have not tried making a large shortcake ourselves, we are unable to guarantee the results.