Is it summer yet? Seriously… can we just go ahead and kick this season off a little early?
I’m in… you should totally join me.
What does it mean to kick summer off a little early? Well, here’s a list of things I’m going to get rollin’… like toot sweet.
Summertime means:
Consuming abnormal amounts of pink wine. Yea… that’s totally going to happen.
Driving around town with all of the windows all the way down. Hair be damned.
Summer soundtrack… this one comes with time. So far I’m thinking a little Kanye and little Jay-Z and a smattering of Fleetwood Mac. I know… nuts-o.
How often will I be in a bikini? Nope… not often at all. How often will I not be in a bikini. Most of the summer. Believe that.
Strawberry Blackberry Shortcakes. Kickin’ off early summer right on time. Go and do.
Maybe these pictures are a little dark. Maybe these pictures are a little blurry. Maybe I didn’t have a lot of pictures to choose from. Maybe I just wanted to snap away as fast as I could so that I could shovel this shortcake into my mouth as soon as possible. Maybe…. definitely.
Here’s what we’re dealing with: sweet and tender vanilla biscuits, fresh summer berries and berry juice, topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Simple. Divine.
Just go ahead and quit your job and make shortcakes all day.
Dang… I’m full of such great advice.
Strawberry Blackberry Shortcake
makes 6 servings
For the berry mixture:
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 large handful fresh blackberries, cut in half
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the whipped cream:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the biscuit mixture:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, plus more for brushing the tops before baking
about 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar to sprinkle before baking
Slice the strawberries and blackberries and place in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Stir. Cover and place in the fridge to macerate for at least 2 hours.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using simple a bowl and whisk, whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until soft peaks form. Cover place in the fridge for later.
Now let’s make the biscuits!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rack in the center of the oven.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla extract and heavy cream. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and, using your fingers, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture. Work quickly, the butter and flour mixture will look like coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together. Dump out onto a clean, floured surface and bring it together with your hands. Knead once or twice then pat the dough out into a rectangle roughly 7-inches long, 4 -inches tall and 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into six equal pieces.
Place the shortcakes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each shortcake with a bit of cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned.
Remove from the oven. Cool completely.
To assemble, cut the shortcakes in half, top with a few spoonfuls of berries and juice, whipped cream and the biscuit top. Dang good.
[…] looks amazing (I grew up making and eating snickerdoodles), I think I will stick with a classic shortcake recipe she has on her blog. Then I hopped over to another favorite, Minimalist Baker for a Simple […]