Sweet of the Week: Strawberry Shortcake at Floriole Cafe & Bakery

Strawberry Shortcake:

Strawberry shortcake is kind of a big deal. It's the first huge warm-weather dessert starlet to take the stage after an endless season of pumpkin pie and other wintry monotonies. As strawberries come into season, shortcake is a sensational way to celebrate them in all their sweet simplicity, allowing the berries to shine against a subtle backdrop of cream and cake and/or biscuits. When it comes to strawberry shortcake in Chicago, the version I have come to obsess over and eagerly anticipate each year is the one at Floriole Cafe & Bakery. Seeing as every seasonal dessert this place does is stunning and impeccable, it comes as no surprise that their strawberry shortcake is top-tier, exemplifying the spring/summer dessert with a tasteful medley of fruit, biscuit, and airy whipped cream. 


(Strawberry shortcake at Floriole)
(Strawberry shortcake at Floriole)


The most lustrous jewel in the pastry case at the moment at Floriole is this shortcake, a dish so ruby-red it makes Dorothy's shoes look dull. Each shortcake dessert features a hefty heap of sliced strawberries, sourced from local farms at their seasonal peak. I could order a plain bowl of strawberries here and be equally happy, considering how vivid and naturally saccharine these things are. But I won't say no to a biscuit and whipped cream, either. Especially when said biscuits are as exceptional as these ones. Floriole's biscuits are doughy and delicate, with a fine crispy patina along the exterior. They're the perfect foundation for a bed of berries and cream, substantial enough to absorb some of the fruit juices and cream without getting soggy. And speaking of that cream, this stuff is Nirvana. It's incredibly light yet rich, like a cloud infused with simple syrup. But the real star of the show here is the strawberry. The biscuit and whipped cream just so happen to be the perfect vehicle to deliver a solid punch of berries at their best. And this is what early summer dessert is all about. 


- Matt Kirouac

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