Cherry Shortcake

Howdy,

I am still on a cherry kick.  Picking 10 pounds of cherries, I have a lot of recipes to come up with.  Though I am happy to say that they are pretty close to being gone.  I have about 2 more pounds left.  Not to bad.  I just love cherry season. It’s the sign of summer, though you wouldn’t know it here in California.  It’s been weird weather.  We got a heck of a rain storm on Saturday and the wind has been crazy, plus we went from 90 degrees to 68 the next day.  Crazy weird weather.  Anyway, today I made for you one of my favorite desserts of all time, next to Angel Food Cake which is my Cherry Shortcake.

This Shortcake is amazing.  Plump, sweet juicy cherries on a fresh homemade biscuit, topped with homemade whipped cream.  So good.  I didn’t add that much sugar to the recipe because I am not an overly sweet person, unless it comes to chocolate.  The recipe is such a breeze to make too.  I had it all together in under 30 minutes.  Not to shabby.

I started out by making my biscuits.  I love making biscuits.  For some odd reason I get pure enjoyment making them and oddly enough I find it relaxing.  The biscuits are made with simple ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, sugar,  butter and non-fat milk.  I used my new pastry blender to break the butter into the flour mixture.  I felt like a chef.  I normally use my hands.  I went light on the sugar and using non-fat milk helps with the fat content and calories.  Once I made my dough, I just plopped it on a baking sheet and baked in the oven.  They turned out light and fluffy.  I have to admit I think they are the perfect biscuit.

While the biscuits were baking, I made the cherry sauce.  I took 4 cups of pitted cherries and added a pinch of almond extract, 2 tablespoons of sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch and heated it in a skillet until it was thick and juicy.  About 5 minutes or so.  I could eat the cherries with a spoon.  And you know what?  I did.  he he

When everything was cooling I made my homemade whip cream.  I used Trader Joe’s whipping cream.  I just beat it until it was light and fluffy.  I didn’t add any sugar, but you could if you wanted too.

I put everything together in a snap.  My Husband was patiently waiting.  This was our Sunday breakfast.  Well I look at it this way, you have fresh fruit, a biscuit, which is like toast, ok not really and just a dollop of whip cream.  It’s kind of like breakfast?  I just did a nice simple layer of cherries and whip cream over my biscuit.  Yummy!

Cherry Shortcake

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

2 cups flour 4 tsp. baking powder ¾ tsp. salt 2 tbsp. sugar 4 tbsp. butter, unsalted, chilled 1 cup non-fat milk 4 cups cherries, pitted, cut in half if big 1 tsp. almond extract 1 tsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp cornstarch 2 tbsp. sugar 8 fl. oz. heavy whipping cream

Author: Jennifer Drummond

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter, unsalted, chilled
• 1 cup non-fat milk
• 4 cups cherries, pitted, cut in half if big
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 8 fl. oz. heavy whipping cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; mix until combined. Cut in chilled butter until it forms course crumbs. Mix in milk until a dough forms, and pulls from the side of the bowl.
4. Evenly drop 8 mounds of batter onto baking sheet. Place in oven and cook for 10 - 12 minutes, until lightly brown. Let cool on baking sheet for two minutes then remove to a cooling rack.
5. While biscuits are cooling, in a large skillet over medium low heat, add cherries, almond extract, lemon juice, 2 tbsp. sugar and cornstarch. Stir constantly until thick and bubbly; about 5-8 minutes. Let cool.
6. In a bowl, beat together the whipping cream (add 1 tbsp. of sugar if desired) until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
7. Put the shortcake together, by topping shortcake with cherries and add a dollop of whipping cream. Another option is you can cut the shortcake in half, horizontally, add cherries and whip cream, to half the biscuit; top with other half of biscuit on top to make a sandwich. Top with more cherries and whipping cream if desired.

Notes

You could use frozen cherries in place of fresh. Cooking time maybe a little longer.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 serving Calories: 339 Fat: 14 Carbohydrates: 44 Sugar: 17 Sodium: 486 Fiber: 2.4 Protein: 5.1 Cholesterol: 16

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3.4.3177

I am drooling as we speak.  Such a perfect dessert for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.  You can make everything in advance and serve it up at your next BBQ.  I would just warm up the biscuits again before serving so they crisp up a bit.  Biscuits are best the day you make it, but warmed in the oven they taste just as good.

Have a great day!

Toodles,

Jennifer