Warm Brioche Berry Shortcake Recipes

PERFECT BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and 3 Tbs. sugar in a medium bowl. Grate 2 Tbs. of the butter on the coarse holes of a box grater into dry ingredients; toss to coat. Repeat grating and tossing with remaining butter. Combine egg and half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. Toss with a fork to form large clumps. Lightly press clumps into a ball; add a teaspoon more half-and-half to the bowl if dough won't come together.
• Turn dough onto work surface; press into an 8-by-4- to 5-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 squares, placing them 1 inch apart on a small baking sheet. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) Before baking, brush tops with optional egg white for a particularly attractive sheen. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbs. sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix thawed and fresh berries with sugar in a bowl; let stand until sugar dissolves. With a hand mixer, beat cream to soft peaks, gradually adding 1 Tb. sugar, then vanilla.
• Split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries over each cake bottom, then a dollop of whipped cream over berries. Cap with cake top and serve immediately.

MIXED BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. transfer to a bowl; press a piece of plastic wrap on top of custard. Refrigerate., In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk until a soft dough forms. Pat gently into a 9-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack., Cut shortcake into 3/4-in. cubes. In parfait glasses, alternate layers of shortcake, custard, sliced strawberries and blueberries. Garnish with halved strawberries and a dollop of whipped topping.

PICNIC BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Add 1 cup strawberries; mash mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime zest. Transfer to a small bowl; refrigerate, covered, until chilled., Cut sponge cakes crosswise in half; trim the cakes to fit in the bottoms of 4 wide-mouth half-pint canning jars. In a small bowl, mix blueberries and remaining strawberries; spoon over cakes. Top with sauce. If desired, serve with whipped topping.

FLAKY BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Dough: Combine milk and yeast in a small liquid-measuring cup. Set aside until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine flours, salt, and sugar. Add yeast mixture and 4 eggs; mix on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 6 minutes. Add room-temperature butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until dough is smooth and shiny, about 3 minutes more. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Butter Package: Arrange cold butter in a single layer on a piece of plastic wrap and loosely wrap. On a sturdy work surface, use a rolling pin to beat until butter is slightly softened, then roll out to a 5-by-8-inch rectangle, adjusting plastic as necessary. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 7-by-18-inch rectangle. Place chilled butter package on bottom half of dough, leaving about a 1-inch border on three of the sides. Fold top half of dough over butter to cover, then pinch edges together to seal. Tuck overhanging dough edges under to form a neat package. Roll out dough once more to a 7-by-18-inch rectangle. Fold top third of dough down towards center, then fold bottom third on top (like a business letter). This completes a single turn. Rotate dough package 90 degrees and repeat rolling and folding process. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate about 45 minutes. Perform two additional single turns on dough. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Brush two standard 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with room-temperature butter. Roll out dough to a 14-by-14-inch square. Lightly brush top 3 inches of dough with water. Starting at opposite long edge, roll dough into a tight spiral, pressing to seal end. Cut log into 6 equal pieces and space evenly in prepared pans, cut-sides up. Lightly brush sides of dough pieces that face each other with water. Loosely cover with plastic and let rise in a warm spot until dough is light and full of air and has expanded to nearly fill pans, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until loaves are puffed and lightly golden, about 35 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and continue baking until deep golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into center reads 205 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes more. Let cool in pans 5 minutes, then unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

WARM BRIOCHE BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Whip the cream until softly peaked. Refrigerate it.
• Using a very sharp serrated knife, carefully trim the crust from the brioche. Slice the loaf into 8 thick slices.
• Gently mix all the berries together in a bowl. Remove 3 cups of them and set aside, refrigerated. Place the remaining berries in a saucepan with the sugar. The recipe can be prepared in advance to this point.
• Bring the berries just to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, until they begin to release their juices. Remove them from the heat and stir in the liqueur.
• To serve, place a slice of brioche on each of 8 plates. Spoon the warm cooked berries on top of the brioche. Spoon the uncooked berries on top of the cooked ones, then top each serving with whipped cream. Serve at once.

MIXED BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• For the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor (or a large bowl). Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is completely cut into the flour mixture (or use a pastry cutter if using a bowl). Combine the buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup and while pulsing (or stirring) the dough, drizzle in the buttermilk mixture until the dough just comes together and is no longer crumbly.
• Drop the mixture in 8 clumps between 2 baking sheets, then bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• For the berries: Wash the berries, slice the strawberries and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle on the granulated sugar, then add the orange zest and juice. Stir gently, then set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to allow a syrup to develop.
• For the sweet yogurt cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, yogurt, granulated sugar and brown sugar on high until stiff. (Note: It won't get quite as stiff as regular whipped cream.)
• To serve, lay one biscuit on a plate, top with syrupy fruit, then top with a good spoonful of cream.

GRILLED BRIOCHE WITH WARM FRUIT

Steps:

• Heat a grill to medium-high. In a large cast-iron skillet, combine sugar, bourbon, and water. Place on grill and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Add blueberries and strawberries and cook until fruit is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in raspberries. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Butter both sides of each brioche slice. Grill, turning quickly, until golden brown, about 10 seconds per side. Serve brioche topped with fruit mixture and whipped cream.

LEMON-BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9-in. round baking pan., In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened. Fold in 1 cup strawberries. Transfer to prepared pan., Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely., For topping, toss berries with lemon juice and sugar. To serve, spread whipped topping over cake. Top with berries.

TWO-BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Make biscuits:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until a soft, sticky dough forms.
• Drop dough in 6 mounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes.
• Make filling:
• While biscuits bake, gently mash half of berries with 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in remaining berries.
• Make cream:
• Beat cream together with sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
• Carefully cut biscuits in half horizontally and arrange 1 bottom half, split side up, on each of 6 plates. Top each with berries, whipped cream, and other half of biscuit.