Raspberry Shortcake

 

Raspberry Shortcake is a delicious summer dessert that will have your family gushing with praise.  Nor surprise there. Its not only a very pretty dessert, but is also incredibly delicious.

And there is no better time to make it than the summer during raspberry season when these lovely berries are much more affordable and abundant!

 

Its a  simple dessert, having only three components.  Fresh berries.  Crisp buttery biscuits. Whipped cream.  Easy peasy.

Once you have all of the components assembled, it goes together in a flash. 

My sister and I went to the Spurr Brother's Farm yesterday on our way home from Walmart and I picked up some lovely fresh raspberries.  There is a huge difference between the berries you buy in the supermarket and those you get at a farm market.

In most cases they have been freshly picked that morning and are so delicious.  I haven't had such beautiful berries since I left the U.K.

 

Of course I never eat raspberries without thinking back to the summer that I turned eleven years old.  We had just moved to Nova Scotia from Manitoba and were staying in the apartment on top of my grandfather's house while we were waiting for our house on the base to be ready to move into.

The day finally came and my father went off to meet the moving van, telling my mother that he would be back to pick us all up soon.  Thinking he would only be an hour or so my mother did not feed us lunch.  We were starving.

My sister and I discovered a hoard of fresh raspberries next to the railroad tracks behind the next door neighbors.  We had no idea that they were privately owned. 

 

We set about gorging ourselves on these lovely fresh berries until the owner yelled at us and chased us away.  (I am not surprised!)  And then we had to endure our mother giving us heck.

My father finally did arrive and we set out to go to our new house.  As a child I was always getting car sick.  I proceeded to bring up raspberries in the car on the way to our new home, and was ill for most of the rest of the day.  

I think my father was vacuuming raspberry seeds out of the carpet in that car for the remainder of the time we owned the car and it was many, many years before I could look a raspberry in the face again.

 

Funny how that goes.  I can now quite happily eat them, although at my age the seeds do bother me a bit at times. Just one of the drawbacks of aging! 

Anyways, I decided to make myself a delicious dessert with some of the berries I picked up yesterday, while they are still fresh and beautiful.   Dessert doesn't get much better than this raspberry shortcake recipe.

 

Freshly baked all butter crisp edged and crusted, sugar glazed biscuits.  Love, love.  Fresh macerated berries with just a hint of sugar. Again, love, love.

Softly whipped vanilla cream, lightly sweetened and flavored with vanilla paste (if you have it) or vanilla extract, if not.

The three together, raspberry heavenly bliss. Love. Love. Love. 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE RASPBERRY SHORTCAKE

For the biscuits:

• 1 3/4 cups (220g) all purpose plain flour
• 2 TBS granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup (80g) cold butter, cut into small bits
• 1/2 cup (120ml) half cream, half whole milk (may need more)
• Cream to brush on top
• Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top (demerara)

For the berries:

• 3 cups (375g) fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar (may need more if your berries are really tart)

For the cream:

• 1 cup (240ml) cold whipping cream
• 3 1/2 TBS icing sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (can use vanilla paste if you have it. Gorgeous.)

 

HOW TO MAKE FRESH RASPBERRY SHORTCAKE

First make the biscuits. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Drop in the cold butter. Cut the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in the milk and cream using a fork, and mix together to a soft dough. If it seems dry you can add a bit more milk.

Tip out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead gently a few times to bring together. Pat out 1-inch thickness. Cut into quarters and stack the quarters on top of each other. Pat out into 1-inch thickness again. Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch round sharp biscuit cutter. 

Gather any scraps together and repeat. (know that they won't be as pretty) 

 

Brush the tops of each biscuit with some cream, making sure that it doesn't drip down the sides. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Set aside to cool.

While the biscuits are baking, stir together the raspberries and the sugar, making sure that they are all evenly coated. Leave to stand for about half an hour until the juices are released from the berries.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla. Whip until the cream stands up firmly, taking care not to overwhip.

To assemble split the cooled biscuits, placing a bottom half in the bottom of each of six dessert dishes. Top with a generous amount of berries and a nice dollop of the whipped cream. Place the top of the cooled biscuits on top of the whipped cream and serve. (I like to hold a few berries back to spoon over top of each serving, but its not necessary.) 

 

And there you have it. One of summers finest, simplest, most delicious dessert offerings. If you are looking for some other fruity desserts, you might enjoy the following:

JAM JAR TRIFLES - The nice thing about these, aside from their ease of preparation and deliciousness, is that they are adaptable to whatever fruit you happen to have in season! 

STRAWBERRY AND RHUBARB CRISP - This delicious baked dessert makes the most of seasonal berries and rhubarb.  Delicious sweet and fruity base, topped with a buttery oat filled crumble topping. Delicious! 

SPICED SUMMER BERRY COMPOTE -  One of the best uses of the summer berries. Rich and heady. Beautifully colored. Simple. Perfect with some cold ice cream, vanilla of course!

Raspberry Shortcake

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 25 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Simple to make and beautiful to look at, this is a delicious summer dessert everyone loves. All butter biscuits. Macerated fresh berries. Vanilla infused whipped cream. It doesn't get much better than this!

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

• 1 3/4 cups (220g) all purpose plain flour
• 2 TBS granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup (80g) cold butter, cut into small bits
• 1/2 cup (120ml) half cream, half whole milk (may need more)
• Cream to brush on top
• Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top (demerera)

For the berries:

• 3 cups (375g) fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar (may need more if your berries are really tart)

For the cream:

• 1 cup (240ml) cold whipping cream
• 3 1/2 TBS icing sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (can use vanilla paste if you have it. Gorgeous.)

Instructions

1. First make the biscuits. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Drop in the cold butter. Cut the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
3. Stir in the milk and cream using a fork, and mix together to a soft dough. If it seems dry you can add a bit more milk.
4. Tip out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead gently a few times to bring together.
5. Pat out 1-inch thickness. Cut into quarters and stack the quarters on top of each other. Pat out into 1-inch thickness again. Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch round sharp biscuit cutter.
6. Gather any scraps together and repeat. (know that they won't be as pretty)
7. Brush the tops of each biscuit with some cream, making sure that it doesn't drip down the sides. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Set aside to cool.
9. While the biscuits are baking, stir together the raspberries and the sugar, making sure that they are all evenly coated. Leave to stand for about half an hour until the juices are released from the berries.
10. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla. Whip until the cream stands up firmly, taking care not to overwhip.
11. To assemble split the cooled biscuits, placing a bottom half in the bottom of each of six dessert dishes. Top with a generous amount of berries and a nice dollop of the whipped cream. Place the top of the cooled biscuits on top of the whipped cream and serve. (I like to hold a few berries back to spoon over top of each serving, but its not necessary.)

Did you make this recipe?

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