Summer Shortcake Supreme Recipes

SUMMER FRUIT SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture; pour in the buttermilk and milk, and mix just until the dough gathers together. Do not overwork. Cover the bowl, and allow dough to rest 10 to 15 minutes. Roll or pat the dough into 6 rounds, each about 3 inches in diameter. Place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Place on a rack and cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, combine the blueberries, apricots, and cherries in a bowl. Toss to blend and set aside.
• Beat the whipping cream in a mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Stir in 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form. Split the shortcakes in half and place the bottom halves on 6 serving plates. Spoon whipped cream over each half, top with fruit, and place a shortcake top on each. Dust tops with remaining 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar.

SUMMER SHORTCAKE SUPREME

Steps:

• 1. Prepare cake mix as directed on box for 9x13 pan. Let cool completely. I like to make ahead and refrigerate, covered.
• 2. Wash and hull strawberries, let dry til damp. Cut in half, or quarters if large, and place in large bowl. Wash peaches, smoothing fuzz with hands under running water. Let dry and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch chunks. Put in bowl with strawberries. Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir gently to distribute. Store in fridge a few hours to allow to make it's own sauce with the added sugar.
• 3. In another large bowl, make vanilla pudding with only 1 cup milk, mix as directed on package. Carefully fold in thawed whipped topping thoroughly. Can see if completely mixed because pudding will be different color than topping. Store, covered, in fridge until time to serve.
• 4. Cut cake into squares. Can be sliced in half horizontally if refrigerated. Scoop strawberries and peaches with some juice over cake. Top with combined pudding/whipped topping mixture. Repeat if sliced in half for a double decker version.

SPIKED SUMMER BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• For the biscuits: Place the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in the food processor. Pulse until well combined, about 5 times. Scatter the butter around the flour mixture and pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of peas, about 10 times. It's okay if there are a few larger chunks.
• Drizzle in the heavy cream while pulsing the machine a few times until the dough appears dry and crumbly with a few large pieces of butter.
• Transfer the dough to a work surface. Work the dough with your hands until it just comes together and no longer appears dry. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to an 8-by-6-inch rectangle. Using a bench scraper or spatula, fold the rectangle into thirds, like a letter, then roll out the dough again to an 8-by-6-inch rectangle. Cut out 6 biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Using the bench scraper or spatula if needed, transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. You can gather the scraps and repeat the process with the dough to cut 3 or 4 "ugly biscuits" (I call them that because they're usually not as uniform as the first batch). Transfer them to the baking sheet if there's room, otherwise bake them after the first batch.
• In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush onto each biscuit then bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, for the berry sauce: Place the 1/2 cup raspberries, 1/2 cup strawberries, sugar, and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add 1/4 cup of the orange liqueur. Simmer over medium to medium-low heat until the berries start to break down, about 5 minutes. Pour into a blender (see Disclaimer), add the remaining 1 tablespoon orange liqueur and blend on high until smooth. Strain the sauce through a sieve into another small bowl set in an ice bath to cool.
• When the sauce is cooled, add the mixed berries and stir, then set aside for plating.
• Meanwhile, for the whipped cream topping: Whip the cream, confectioners' sugar, and orange liqueur with a handheld electric mixer in a large bowl.
• To assemble the shortcakes: Open each biscuit and spoon a few tablespoons of berries and sauce onto the biscuit bottom. Add a dollop of whipped cream and cover with the biscuit top. Add a touch more of the berries, sauce, and whipped cream on top. Serve and enjoy.

SUMMER FRUIT SHORTCAKES WITH MAPLE CREAM

Steps:

• In large bowl, stir together fruit and maple syrup. Let stand about 1 hour until fruit becomes juicy.
• Heat oven to 450°F. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in margarine, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended.
• Drop dough by 8 spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
• In small bowl, beat whipping cream and powdered sugar with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold in yogurt and maple flavor. (Refrigerate until ready to serve.)
• Split shortcakes horizontally in half while warm. Place about 1/4 cup fruit and 1 tablespoon Maple Cream on bottom half of each shortcake. Add shortcake tops. Top each with additional fruit and 1 tablespoon Maple Cream.

SUMMER BERRY SHORTCAKES WITH TANGY LEMON CREAM

Steps:

• For berries:
• Combine berries in a bowl. Add sugar, mint and lemon juice; toss well and chill, tossing occasionally, 4 hours or overnight. For lemon cream: Combine sour cream, sugar and lemon zest in a bowl; mix well. Chill at least 1 hour.
• For shortcakes:
• Heat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a bowl until well blended. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut butter pieces into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. With a rubber spatula, stir in 1 cup plus 1 tbsp buttermilk until just moistened and dough begins to form (it will be sticky at this point). With lightly floured hands, gently knead dough 3 or 4 times until it holds together. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll dough with a rolling pin into an 8 1/2-inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. With a floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 8 circles from dough and transfer to baking sheet. Discard dough scraps. Brush top of each shortcake with remaining 1 tbsp buttermilk. Bake until shortcakes rise and turn lightly golden, 16 to 18 minutes.
• To serve:
• Cut each shortcake in half crosswise. Place the bottom on a plate and top with 3/4 cup berry mixture and 2 tbsp lemon cream. Cover with top half of shortcake. Serve immediately.