Searching for Alternatives: Strawberry Shortcake Ideas

My host wants to serve these as dessert, but cannot find the pastries around here.

What esle could we use? I thought about those little cakes that you buy for strawberry shortcake. What u think?

My director once told me one her hosts had trouble finding these and she bought cresent rolls. Baked them following the directions on the can and then cut them like you would the pastry. She said they tasted about the same.

I brought the strawberry amaretto ingredients into work and served them on shortcake rolls just to be a little less messy and it tasted great! However I still think that the sugar and almonds on top of the pastry added a lot to the dessert. There must be a recipe somewhere for pastry rolls. I am sure they could be done from scratch...

How about just using the filling, orange zest and almonds with fruit? I think it would be great as a fruit dip and you can show alot of different tools.

Puff Pastry from ScratchScratch Puff Pastry is A LOT OF WORK!
See below, from About.com. I made a Xmas wreath from scratch one day and it took all day. In lieu of home-made, maybe make them more like a "S'more" bar using graham wafers, or any crisp, thin store-bought cookie. You could also do cookies from the cookie press, or perhaps a pressed shortbread? Most Puff Pastry is found in the freezer section, some you can simply "fold out" and some you have to actually "roll out".

Homemade Puff Pastry from Scratch Recipe
Ingredients
13 ounces (390 g) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp (7 ml) salt
3 ounces (90 g) unsalted butter, cold
7 fluid ounces (210 ml) water, cold

10 ounces (300 g) unsalted butter, softened


Instructions
To form the detrempe, sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the cold butter (3 ounces) into small pieces and then cut the pieces into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add all the water at once. Using a rubber spatula or your fingers, gradually draw the flour into the water. Mix until all the flour is incorporated. Do not knead. The detrempe should be sticky and shaggy-looking.

Note: The detrempe can be made in a food processor. To do so, combine the flour, salt and pieces of cold butter in a food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade. Process until a coarse meal is formed. With the processor running, slowly add the water. Turn the machine off as soon as the dough comes together to form a ball. Process with the remainder of the recipe.

Turn the detrempe out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times by hand, rounding it into a ball. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and chll overnight.

To roll in the butter, first prepare the softened butter by placing it between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll the softened butter into a rectangle, approximately 5 inches by 8 inches (12.5 centimeters by 20 centimeters). It is important that the detrempe and butter be of almost equal consistency. If necessary, allow the detrempe to sit at room temperature to soften or chill the butter briefly to harden.

On a lightly floured board, roll the detrempe into a rectangle approximately 12 inches by 15 inches (30 centimeters by 37.5 centimeters). Lift and rotate the dough as necessary to prevent sticking.

Use a dry pastry brush to brush away any flour from the dough's surface. Loose flour can cause gray streaks and can prevent the puff pastry from rising properly when baked.

Peel one piece of plastic wrap from the butter. Position the butter in the center of the rectangle and remove the remaining plastic. Fold the four edges of the detrempe over the butter enclosing it completely. Stretch the dough if necessary; it is important that none of the butter be exposed.

With the folded side facing up, press the dough several times with a rolling pin. Use a rocking motion to create ridges in the dough. Place the rolling pin in each ridge and slowly roll back and forth to widen the ridge. Repeat until all the ridges are doubled in size.

Using the ridges as a starting point, roll the dough out into a smooth, even rectangle approximately 8 inches by 24 inches (20 centimeters by 50 centimeters). Be careful to keep the corners of the dough as right angles.

Use a dry pastry brush to remove any loose flour from the dough's surface. Fold the dough in thirds, like a business letter. If one end is damaged or in worse condition, fold it in first; otherwise, start at the bottom. This completes the first turn.

Rotate the block of dough 90 degrees so that the folded edge is on your left and the dough faces you like a book. Roll out the dough again, repeating the ridging technique. Once again, the dough should be in a smooth, even rectangle of approximately 8 inches by 24 inches (20 centimeters by 60 centimeters).

Fold the dough in thirds again, completing the second turn. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Repeat the rolling and folding technique until the dough has had a total of five turns. Do not perform more than two turns without a resting and chilling period. Cover the dough completely and chill overnight before shaping and baking.

Yield: 2 pounds (1 kg)

Approximate values per 1-ounce (30 g) serving: Calories 120, total fat 9 g, saturated fat 6 g, cholesterol 25 mg, sodium 110 mg, total carbohydrates 9 g, protein 1 g, vitamin A 8%.

Note: It is not necessary to work with the entire block of dough when making bouchées, cookies or the like. Cut the block into thirds or quarters and work with one of these portions at a time, keeping the rest chilled until needed.

Puff pastry sheets may be frozen. Fold finished rectangles in thirds and wrap tightly before freezing. Defrost in the refrigerator before using.

We used the shortcakes and they were just fine. The Puff pastries taste better but the cakes worked just fine and everyone loved it.