I'm usually the type of person that has to plan ahead, making sure everything is organized and coordinated...but this July 4th was not the case. After returning from Ireland Sunday night, I knew I couldn't pull off an elaborate July 4th post, and instead had to find something that was great for 'last minute' celebrations. I definitely can't take credit for this idea, my mom was the one who suggested the amazing idea of adding a twist to the classic and beloved strawberry shortcake. We decided to add in different types of berries and modified this Martha Stewart recipe to add orange zest for dynamic flavor while using less sugar in the berry mixture. I made the mixed berry shortcake this morning, and the recipe is so easy that you can even make before your guests arrive! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!
Berry Shortcake - Total time 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 3/4 pounds (6 cups) strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
1 pint blue berries, raspberries and/or blackberries
1/2 cups of sugar for the biscuits and 1/4 cups sugar for strawberry mixture
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
2 oranges for zest
2 cups heavy cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup cream and eggs; pour over flour mixture. Zest your oranges, making sure only the orange's outer layer is included. Add to the mixture and pulse until a large clump of dough forms.
Roll your dough until it has one inch of thickness, and take smaller circle cookie cutters to cut the dough. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Transfer to cooling rack to cool.
For the berries, Take about 1/4 of your strawberries, place in a bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the strawberries, allowing their natural sugars to come out. From there, add in your other washed berries and cut strawberries. You can add in 1/4 cup of sugar if you want it sweeter.
The whipped cream is the last step. Take 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, beating until soft peak forms.
To serve your mixed berry shortcake, cut the biscuits in half horizontally. Spoon berries over bottom halves, adding whipped cream on top. Place your top layer of biscuit onto the berries, adding more whipped cream or orange zest to garnish.