Old Glory Shortcake
Add some red white and blue to your summer with this patriotic twist on strawberry shortcake! Buttermilk biscuits, fresh berries and cream – you couldn’t ask for a more perfect combination!
With July 4th just around the corner, I thought it time to haul out an old American classic and give it a patriotic twist. Grab your apron and a fistful of butter, because we’re about to get tasty.
Everybody loves strawberry shortcake. I mean real strawberry shortcake, made with biscuits – not the kind that’s made with flaccid fruit unceremoniously dumped into machine-formed bowls of jaundice-yellow spongecake and topped with canned whipped topping.
The bright red berries, dripping with sweet syrup, the cloud-white mounds of whipped cream, crisp, flaky biscuits – it’s nearly perfect. Nearly. It just needs a little bit of blue. Fortunately, nature provides.
I’ve made a lot of berry shortcakes over the years, but this one is the best. I’ve tweaked the recipe until I got it just how I want it. I served it to my parents recently, and my father declared, “Greg! This is the best dessert I’ve ever had in my entire life!”
Now that’s an endorsement!
The biscuit is the foundation upon which all the other flavors build. I like to make Southern-style buttermilk biscuits with just a hint of sugar to balance the acidic buttermilk and enough salt to balance and complement the sweetened berries. This recipe is best when the biscuits are cooled just slightly. The tops will be crispy, but the crumb (that’s the inside of the biscuit) will melt in your mouth. Making biscuits is all about technique. The butter needs to be cold – no room temperature softening nonsense. You may cut the butter into the flour by hand, but it is so much easier to use a food processor, if you have one. I cut my butter into cubes about the size of a very large pea. After adding them to the dry ingredients, I pulse the processor 15 times. That’s it. I then transfer the dough to a large bowl and mix in the buttermilk with a fork until just combined. I use my hands to work the dough flat – never a rolling pin. The less you handle your biscuit dough, the softer your biscuits will be. Over-handling dough releases the flour’s gluten. Gluten produces elastic dough. Great for bread. Bad for biscuits.
I keep most of the berries whole, except for the sliced strawberries. There is no need to crush them, though you may fork-crush up to 20% if that suits you better. I use 1/2 pint of each berry (or 6 ounces, in case you’re unfamiliar with measuring berries by the pint). Feel free to adjust your ratios – just end up with 1 1/2 pounds of berries, and you’re good to go.
Some people like their whipped cream to be unsweetened, and some prefer it as sweet as the stuff that comes out of a can. I fall somewhere in the middle but leaning towards unsweetened. I find that one tablespoon of sugar is perfect for one pint of cream.
Let’s get to it!
Printer-friendly recipe at the end of the post.
Old Glory Shortcake
Serves 8
Ingredients
for the berry syrup
1/2 pint strawberries, sliced
1/2 pint raspberries
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 pint black raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
for the biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (try to use one without aluminum – your biscuits will taste much better, trust me!)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (if you only have salted butter, reduce the added salt to 3/4 teaspoon)
1 cup buttermilk
for the whipped cream
1 pint heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Place berries in a bowl, add sugar and stir. Crush some berries with a fork, if desired. Set aside for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add flour and other dry ingredients to food processor bowl. Cover and pulse once to combine.
Add cubed butter to food processor and pulse 15 times. The butter should all be about the size of small peas, and the dough should feel like cornmeal.
Transfer dough to large mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and mix with a fork until the ingredients are just combined.
Turn dough out onto floured work surface.
Gently press dough with hands into a 1 inch thick disk.
Fold dough twice and gently press into a disk 1/2 inch thick.
Cut biscuits with biscuit cutter, recombining scraps as necessary.
Place biscuits on baking sheet. Keep the biscuits separated for crispy sides or touching for softer sides.
Bake for ten minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Transfer biscuits to wire rack until cool or still warm, if desired.
While biscuits cool, make the whipped cream.
Add cold cream to a mixing bowl.
Add sugar and vanilla.
Beat on high until desired thickness.
Pull apart or cut each biscuit in half.
Place one half on a plate and top with a spoonful of berries then a spoonful of whipped cream.
Add top half and top with another spoonful of berries and spoonful of whipped cream.
Old Glory Shortcake
Ingredients
for the berry syrup
- 1/2 pint strawberries - – sliced
- 1/2 pint raspberries
- 1/2 pint blueberries
- 1/2 pint black raspberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
for the biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder - – try to use one without aluminum – your biscuits will taste much better, trust me!
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter - – cut into small cubes (if you only have salted butter, reduce the added salt to 3/4 teaspoon)
- 1 cup buttermilk
for the whipped cream
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place berries in a bowl, add sugar and stir. Crush some berries with a fork, if desired. Set aside for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add flour and other dry ingredients to food processor bowl. Cover and pulse once to combine.
- Add cubed butter to food processor and pulse 15 times. The butter should all be about the size of small peas, and the dough should feel like cornmeal.
- Transfer dough to large mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and mix with a fork until the ingredients are just combined.
- Turn dough out onto floured work surface.
- Gently press dough with hands into a 1 inch thick disk.
- Fold dough twice and gently press into a disk 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut biscuits with biscuit cutter, recombining scraps as necessary.
- Place biscuits on baking sheet. Keep the biscuits separated for crispy sides or touching for softer sides.
- Bake for ten minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Transfer biscuits to wire rack until cool or still warm, if desired.
- While biscuits cool, make the whipped cream.
- Add cold cream to a mixing bowl.
- Add sugar and vanilla.
- Beat on high until desired thickness.
- Pull apart or cut each biscuit in half.
- Place one half on a plate and top with a spoonful of berries then a spoonful of whipped cream.
- Add top half and top with another spoonful of berries and spoonful of whipped cream.
OOH Yummy , thanks Greg think this will be my birthday treat, very flattering to know America celebrates my birthday with such enthusiasm đŸ™‚ .
Happy Birthday, Catherine!! đŸ™‚
Just reading your description of those biscuits had me running to heat up the oven and get out the flour and butter! I am with you on the REAL strawberry shortcake, instead of those foam cups!
Thank you, Sharon! Those sponge cake cups are nasty!
Delicious and wonderfully written as always…have a wonderful Fourth!
Thank you, Christina, Happy Fourth to you, too!
omg yum xx
Thank you, Chris – Happy Fourth!