Cake Tuesday: Red, White and Blueberry Shortcakes

*** Patriotic AND tasty fresh berry shortcake dessert good any time in the summer heat!




From Denny: What a beautiful dessert! It's tasty, bursting with fresh berries and so easy to make. Shortcake is just a huge sweetened biscuit. Make sure to read through to the end of the recipe before you begin making this dessert as it will give you a great tip for making the perfect shortcake biscuit.

Shortcake is easy to portion for single servings so you can give your guests the amounts of whipped cream or berries they prefer. These shortcakes are light and fluffy and sure to be a bit hit with family and friends. Fresh berries, whipped cream and that perfect bite of cake will explode a fireworks of taste in your mouth! :)

Have a great Fourth of July weekend!






Red, White and Blueberry Shortcakes


From: Driscoll’s

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbl. grated lemon zest
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 tbls. cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 tsps. coarse sugar crystals
1 (16-oz.) pkg. strawberries, hulled, sliced
1/2 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 tbl. lemon juice
1 cup cold whipping cream
1 (6-oz.) pkg. blackberries
1 (6-oz.) pkg. blueberries
1 (6-oz.) pkg. raspberries


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.

2. Cut in butter, using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Stir in buttermilk just until dry ingredients are moistened.

4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 4 times. Pat or roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness.

5. Cut out 8 stars, using a 3-inch floured star cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with water and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon sugar crystals.

6. Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

To make strawberry sauce: In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.

To make whipped cream: Beat with an electric mixer whipping cream and remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar until thickened and soft peaks form.

To assemble: Toss remaining sliced strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries until blended in a large bowl. Using a serrated knife, cut shortcakes in half horizontally. Place the bottom of each shortcake on each of 8 dessert plates.

Drizzle each shortcake with 1 tablespoon strawberry sauce. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream and about 1/2 cup berries. Place top of shortcake over berries. Serve with remaining strawberry sauce.


Nutritional analysis per serving: 408 calories, 20.3 grams fat, 64.82 milligrams cholesterol, 601.12 milligrams sodium and 3.56 grams fiber.

To lighten: Instead of using whipped cream, dollop with frozen thawed fat-free prepared whipped topping.

Helpful tip: Cutting cold butter into the flour makes little crumbs of fat that produce light, flaky shortcakes. A light stirring and kneading of the dough makes the flakiest shortcakes.


*** Check out more recipe posts: Recipes: Muffin Monday and Cake Tuesday

*** For more Fourth of July posts see also:

63 Quotes About Freedom and Liberty: Happy Birthday, America!

How Do We Live Freedom and Liberty? Libations Friday - 2 July 2010

Fourth of July When Life is Simple poem - Libations Friday 25 June 2010

Dennys Photo Gallery: Fourth of July Watermelon

Cake Tuesday: Red, White and Blue Independence Day Cake



*** Photo from Driscoll


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Awesome Easy Frozen Raspberry Layer Cake and Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Photo by Family Features Editorial Syndicate


From Denny: The weather is turning hotter and more humid now that pollen season is gone so what do our minds turn to thinking? Ice cream and frozen cakes! This cake is made with frozen pound cake, ice cream and sorbet. If you don't have any raspberries then substitute strawberries and strawberry sorbet. Isn't it just beautiful?

You could even make this cake for the special daughter or granddaughter in your life who loves the color pink. It's also a very pretty and showy cake for entertaining as school graduations are coming up along with weddings.

And check out this sour cream cupcake recipe from Redbook. Are these guys not clever or what? They updated the strawberry shortcake idea by turning it into a cupcake where you poke holes in the cupcake and drizzle strawberry syrup juice over it to flavor the cake, then top with whipped cream and strawberries. Awesome! Great for parties too.


Frozen Raspberry Layer Cake

From: Country Living

Serves: 8 to 10

Ingredients:

2 (10-3/4-oz.) frozen pound cakes, crusts removed, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 cups vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
4 cups raspberry sorbet, slightly softened
1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and picked over
3 tbls. Chambord, or other raspberry-flavored liqueur

(From Denny: I love Chambord as it's flavor is more mellow yet intense berry flavor compared to other liqueurs. The expensive is worth the price but do try to use it up inside 6 to 8 months or refrigerate it after opening. Goes great in dark roast coffee too.)


Directions:

1. Prepare the pan: Trace and cut out a 9-inch circle from parchment paper and fit it into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Cut out a 3x27-inch strip of parchment and fit around inside of pan. Tape to secure parchment paper and set aside.

2. Assemble the cake: Cover bottom of pan with a single layer of pound cake slices and spread ice cream evenly over cake. Freeze until ice cream hardens — about 25 minutes.

3. Spread 2 cups sorbet over ice cream, followed by another layer of pound cake slices. Return cake to freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Combine raspberries and Chambord in small bowl. Remove cake pan from freezer and place berries evenly over cake.

5. Top with a final layer of pound cake and remaining sorbet. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until firm — at least 4 hours.







Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

From: Redbook

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 tsps. vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream

Topping:

1 quart strawberries, cleaned, hulled, thickly sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbl. lemon juice
1-1/2 cups cold heavy cream
3 tbls. confectioners’ sugar
1 tbl. vanilla extract


Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In medium bowl, whisk to blend flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In large bowl with mixer on medium, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and sour cream until combined. Continue to beat until batter is smooth.

4. Spoon batter into a zip-top bag. Snip a 1/2-inch corner from bag and fill liners slightly less than 2/3 full. Bake 24 to 26 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes; remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.

5. Toss strawberries several times in a bowl with sugar and lemon juice until very syrupy.

6. In large bowl, beat cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

7. Use a skewer to poke holes in top of each cupcake. Spoon some syrup from strawberries over top, allowing it to absorb into cupcakes. Top with berries and whipped cream. Put a few sliced berries in the whipped cream and drizzle with remaining strawberry syrup.





*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!