Very Berry Shortcakes Food

VERY BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Put the strawberries in the colander. Rinse with cool water. Gently pat strawberries dry with the paper towels.
• Remove the stems from strawberries. Cut strawberries into bite-size pieces on the cutting board, using the knife. Put strawberries in a medium bowl.
• Add the 1/2 cup sugar to strawberries. Gently stir with the wooden spoon. Cover bowl with the plastic wrap, and put in refrigerator.
• Heat the oven to 425°. Make the shortcakes by putting the 2 1/3 cups baking mix, half-and-half, 3 tablespoons sugar and margarine in the large bowl. Stir with wooden spoon to make a soft dough.
• Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons baking mix over a clean surface (such as a kitchen counter or breadboard). Put dough on surface. Roll ball of dough around 3 or 4 times. Curve your fingers around and fold dough toward you, then push it away with the heels of your hands, using a quick rocking motion. Repeat 10 times.
• Roll the dough with the rolling pin or pat the dough with your hands until 1/2 inch thick. Use the ruler to measure, if you like. Dip the cookie cutter into a small amount of baking mix, then cut the dough with the cookie cutter. Carefully put dough on the cookie sheet (you do not need to grease the cookie sheet).
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until shortcakes are golden brown. Use the pot holders to take cookie sheet out of oven. Take shortcakes off cookie sheet, using the pancake turner. Cool shortcakes on the wire cooling rack before topping them.
• Cut the shortcakes in half to make a top and a bottom. Put bottoms of shortcakes on the dessert plates. Spoon some of the strawberries over the shortcake bottoms. Cover with shortcake tops. Top with the rest of the strawberries and the whipped topping.

VERY BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Mix pancake mix, milk, and butter together until a dough forms. Drop 1/3 cup portions onto a baking sheet, and bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes (until just slightly brown on top). No need to shape the biscuits. Toss the berries in the sugar. Place 5 biscuits in a bowl, divide the berries and half and half evenly, and pour over the biscuits.

RED BERRY SHORTCAKES WITH HONEY YOGURT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, the baking powder and salt. Add the butter and mix at low speed just until the butter is the size of peas. In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream, eggs and orange zest. With the mixer on low, add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until combined. The dough will be very sticky.
• Heavily flour a cutting board. Mix the dough with a rubber spatula to be sure all of the dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl are incorporated. Transfer to a board and knead lightly into a disk, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Roll or pat the dough 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut circles of dough with a plain 3-inch round cutter and transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Chill for 30 minutes. Brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are browned and spring back when touched. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the strawberries and the 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Carefully fold in the raspberries and set aside for another 15 minutes to macerate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt and honey, cover and refrigerate.
• To assemble, split each shortcake in half horizontally and place the bottoms on dessert plates. Spoon the yogurt mixture on each cake and spoon the berries and their juices on top. Place the shortcake tops over the berries. Sprinkle with extra grated orange zest, garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.

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.

THE BEST CLASSIC STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• For the shortcakes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla in a small bowl; refrigerate until ready to use. Pulse the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal. Pour in the chilled heavy cream mixture and pulse until just combined.
• Lightly flour a work surface and dump the dough onto it. Pat out the dough 1/2-inch thick. Cut out as many biscuits as you can with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Then pat the remaining dough out to 1/2-inch thick again. Cut more biscuits; you should get 12.
• Put 6 of the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops generously with cream, then top each cream-brushed biscuit with one of the remaining biscuit rounds. (This makes it easier to split once they are baked.) Brush the top of each biscuit stack with more heavy cream and sprinkle 1 teaspoon granulated sugar on each biscuit.
• Bake the biscuits until golden and puffed, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
• Meanwhile, for the topping: Toss the strawberries and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar in a medium bowl.
• Just before serving, beat the heavy cream, sour cream, the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Split the shortcakes in half. Spoon half the cream on the bottom of the biscuits, top evenly with the strawberries and top with the remaining cream. Put each biscuit top on and serve.

SUMMER BERRY STACKED SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trace an 8-inch circle onto two pieces of parchment paper. Line two baking sheets with the paper, writing-side down.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, cream and egg in a liquid measuring cup.
• Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is the size of small peas. Make a well in the center and pour in the liquid. Stir the mixture together until just combined, then use your hands to knead it a few times until the dough comes together. It will be the texture of thick cookie dough.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces, place each onto one of the prepared baking sheets and use lightly damp hands to press it into a circle just inside the traced line. (Do your best to pat the tops flat while keeping the edges perpendicular to the pan.) Chill the dough on the baking sheets in the refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes (dough can be chilled up to 4 hours). Just before baking, sprinkle each round with 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar.
• Bake the shortcakes until golden and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool completely.
• While the shortcakes are cooling, macerate the berries and make the cream: Add berries, sugar, lemon and vanilla to a large bowl. Use a fork to gently mash up to 1/4 cup of the berries. (This doesn't have to be exact, but you want to create a little bit of liquid if your berries aren't naturally super juicy.) Stir gently to combine and let sit for about 30 minutes.
• For the cream, add the yogurt, sugar, vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add the heavy cream, and whip until very firm peaks form. (You can complete the shortcakes, cream and berries up to 4 hours in advance, refrigerating the cream and berries until ready to serve.)
• To serve, place one of the cooled shortcakes on a serving plate. Top with half of the cream followed by half the berries. (Don't spread the cream quite to the edges, as it will spread when you add the other shortcake.) Repeat with the remaining shortcake, cream and berries. If there is a lot of extra berry juice left in the bowl, serve it alongside the cake.
• Slice the cake with a long serrated knife and serve. The shortcake can be layered up to about 1 hour in advance and stored in the fridge. It will soften as it sits.

OLD-FASHIONED BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat on high speed until mixture is thick and holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface when you raise the whisk, about 5 minutes.
• Place reserved flour mixture on a large piece of parchment paper. Holding paper like a funnel, add flour mixture to egg mixture. With machine running on low speed, mix until just combined. In a steady stream, immediately add oil; mix until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer; detach the whisk. Using the whisk, fold mixture several times.
• Divide batter between pans. Bake cakes, rotating pans halfway through baking time, until the centers spring back when you touch them with your finger, about 30 minutes.
• Immediately turn cakes out onto a wire rack; let stand until completely cool.
• Combine cream, confectioners' sugar, and remaining teaspoon vanilla extract in clean mixer bowl. Scrape in vanilla seeds; reserve pod for another use. Starting on low speed and increasing to medium high, whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Using a serrated knife, slice cakes in half; place one layer on a serving plate. Spread one-fourth of whipped cream over the layer; arrange strawberries on top. Repeat process with remaining layers, cream, and berries. Refrigerate until serving; garnish with mint.