about | contact | home

Blueberry Shortcakes By Alice Currah and Sweetsavorylife.com

SHORTCAKE INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulsate in 3-second intervals until everything resembles coarse meal. If doing this by hand, use 2 knives, a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in heavy cream, egg, vanilla and lemon zest, mixing the dough by hand until it is uniform and slightly moistened. On a floured surface, scoop out half the dough and form a ball. Flatten the dough and make a circular disk that is approximately 3/4 inches in height. Press down the outside of the disk so the center is slightly taller.

Cut each circle in quarters. Scoop out remainder of dough and repeat. You should have enough dough to make 8 shortcakes.

Bake for 15 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on an ungreased cookie sheet. Remove shortcakes from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. While shortcakes are cooling, prepare blueberry sauce and whipped cream.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE:

2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Juice from 1 lemon

Cook blueberries, sugar, water and lemon juice on medium-high heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

WHIPPED CREAM:

1 cup heavy whipped cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, make a batch of sweetened whipped cream by whipping heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer or KitchenAid until your cream has formed peaks.

ASSEMBLING THE SHORTCAKES:

Slice each shortcake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half on a plate. Start layering by adding a couple tablespoons of blueberry sauce on top of the cut side of the biscuit. Next add a dollop of whipped cream and then place the other half of the biscuit on top. Finish off the shortcake with a couple more tablespoons of blueberry sauce and then a dollop of whipped cream. Optional garnish: Place a small mint sprig on top.

©Copyright 2011, Caliope Publishing Company