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1
Preheat the oven to 425F.
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2
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl.
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3
Grate the butter into these dry ingredients and use your fingertips to finish crumbling the butter into the flour.
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4
Whisk the egg into the cream, and pour into the flour mixture a little at a time, using a fork to mix.
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5
You may not need all of the eggy cream to make the dough come together, so go cautiously.
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6
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll gently to a thickness of about 3/4 inch.
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7
Dip the cutter in flour and cut out as many rounds as you can.
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8
Work the scraps back into a dough, re-roll and finish cutting outyou should get 8 in all.
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9
Place the shortcakes about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg white, and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
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10
If it helps with the rest of your cooking, or life in general, you can cover and refrigerate them now for up to 2 hours.
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11
Bake for 1015 minutes, until golden brown, and let them cool for a short while on a wire rack.
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12
Meanwhile, crush half the strawberries with the spoonful of sugar and the few drops of balsamic vinegar if using, and halve or quarter the remaining strawberries, depending on their size.
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13
Whip the heavy cream, if youre using.
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14
The shortcakes should be eaten while still warm, so split each one across the middle and cover with a spoonful of the crushed strawberry mixture, a few halved or quartered strawberries, then dollop some whipped cream or creme fraiche on top, and set the top back on.
