Buttermilk Shortcakes with Macerated Berries #SundayFunday

 

Today the Sunday Funday group is sharing shortcake recipes. Thanks to Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Sue of Palatable Pastime, Rebekah of Making Miracles, and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for coordinating this low-stress group. 

And, for this event, Sue is hosting. We are sharing shortcake recipes! Here's the line-up of our creations from the #SundayFunday bloggers...

• Buttermilk Shortcakes with Macerated Berries from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes from Palatable Pastime
• Eggless Jam Shortcake Swirls from Sneha's Recipe
• Leftover Lemon Loaf Mixed Berry Shortcake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mini Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Lemon Shortcake from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Strawberry Shortcake with Sweet Biscuits from Amy's Cooking Adventures

This was the dessert I made for myself to end my Mothers' Day feasting. It's the perfect balance of sweet with the macerated berries and savory with the buttermilk shortcakes. A few years ago I went down a shortcake rabbit hole, trying out a version made with pound cake, a version with a laminated biscuit, and more. But the recipe I'm sharing today is a hybrid of a drop and a rolled biscuit. There is some rolling involved, but it's minimal.

Buttermilk Shortcakes

• 3-1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• Also needed: rolling pin, baking sheet, parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Blend in the chilled butter - with a pastry cutter - until you have pea sized pieces. Fold in the egg, buttermilk, vanilla, and vinegar. Press it together into a ball of dough. Remember - the less you work the dough, the softer the shortcakes will be. 

On a floured or parchment-covered surface, pat the dough down to about 3/4" thick. Fold it in thirds like an envelope and roll it out one more time to 3/4" thick. With a cookie cutter - I used a circle cutter - cut biscuits and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Macerated Berries

(do this at least one hour before you want to serve)

• 1 cup organic strawberries, hulled and thickly sliced
• 1 cup organic blueberries
• 1 cup organic raspberries
• 1 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste

Place the water, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat, over medium heat, swirling the pan until the sugar is dissolved completely. Once dissolved, add in the vanilla extract and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Place prepped fruit in a bowl or container with a lid. Pour the cooled vanilla simple syrup over the fruit and let macerate for at least an hour or as much as overnight.

Also needed: unsweetened whipping cream! Split open the shortcake and layer: whipped cream, berries, shortcake top, whipped cream, berries. Dig in!!