How are we already talking about Labor day? I mean how is it almost September already? All the fall decorations in the supermarkets, chrysanthemums around all the garden centers and fall produce showing up. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall but I am not ready to let summer go yet. Not the weather, just the produce..ha ha. Soon the berry season would be over and we would have to rely on mostly frozen berries. That makes me sad. But that’s how life rolls. So as a last hoorah to summer and perfect for labor day, today I present Individual berry shortcakes. I made these for Memorial Day and then Independence Day, so I thought why not for Labor Day too?
Jump to RecipeI have talked about the story behind (read it here) the Southern Living Cookbook. Prior to trying this recipe of individual berry shortcakes, I have always made a regular strawberry shortcake from the cookbook. The recipe is excellent but I think slicing and serving the giant shortcake becomes a little messy. Also, everyone loves individual servings of everything. Personal size, bite size, individual size…etc etc.
For July 4th I made these individual berry cakes with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream to go with the red blue and white theme. In my opinion, this is the best combination of berries on a shortcake. So that is what we are going with here today.
Recipe run down
I hulled a bunch of strawberries and then mashed half of them with a fork and chopped the rest small. Macerate them with sugar and lime juice for an hour or so. You can do the same with blueberries (they won’t need chopping). I used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour to make buttermilk shortcakes, using a biscuit cutter. Once the baked shortcakes have cooled, split them, add a dollop of whipped cream and top with berries. Put the other half of biscuit on to and serve immediately.
Individual Berry Shortcakes
Ingredients
Fruit:
- 1 pound strawberries
- 1 pint blueberries
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
For the shortcakes:
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 stick or ½ cup unsalted butter cold cut into small cubes
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg large
- 1 cup buttermilk see notes
- 1 tablespoon milk for brushing the tops of shortcakes
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar like turbinado for topping
For Serving:
- 1 cup whipping cream topping see notes
Instructions
- Hull and chop the strawberries into small pieces. In a bowl, mash half of them with a fork. Add the remaining chopped strawberries into the bowl with mashed berries. Add ¼ cup sugar and lime juice.
- In another bowl, roughly mash the blueberries with a fork in a way that some are burst and some remain intact. So a rough mash. Add two teaspoons sugar. Mix.
- Put both the bowls in the refrigerator until we are ready to assemble our shortcakes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F or 220 degrees C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (See notes), add all the dry ingredients, i.e. flours, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
- With the paddle attachment mix them together.
- In a glass measuring cup, take 1 cup buttermilk and add vanilla and egg to it. Whisk to combine. These are your wet ingredients.
- To the mixed dry ingredients in the stand mixer bowl, add chopped cold butter pieces. Mix until the mixture resembling peas/crumbly texture is formed. See notes
- To this now slowly add the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until the dough just holds together.
- Sprinkle some flour on a rolling surface (could be your kitchen counter) and dump the dough out. You might have to knead it lightly and then pat it until it is almost ¾ of an inch thick. Using a medium size biscuit cutter dipped in flour (see notes) cut into circles.
- You might have dough scraps left after cutting first few biscuits. Pat the scraps together and cut more biscuits. Repeat until all the dough is used up. I got 14 shortcakes from this dough.
- Place the biscuits on the prepared cookie sheet, brush the tops with milk, and sprinkle each shortcake with turbinado sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let cool completely.
To assemble Individual berry shortcakes:
- Split each shortcake from the middle, add about a tablespoon of whipping cream and both the strawberries and blueberries.
Notes
I hope you will give these a try. Happy almost long weekend.
Tools Used:
Measuring Cups: Measuring Spoons:
Cookie Sheet: Parchment paper:
Stand Mixer: Glass Measuring cup:
Whisk: Cookie cutter: Silicone brush:
Love- Vaishali.
Rachael Hope says
This looks absolutely delicious! I have a gluten intolerance so I’m just thinking how I could adapt this recipe 🙂
Thanks
Rach
https://rachaelhope.co.uk
Vaishali says
Rachael, a friend of mine bakes a lot with almond flour. Have you tried it?
Juli says
I love this and would love to try this very soon.
Nina Nichols says
Never baked a strawberry shortcakes before because we always end up just buying at Walmart and Meijer. I guess it's time for real deal! 🙂
Ruth I says
I've never made shortcakes before but this one looks so good! I would love to try this recipe. Looks so delicious!
Nidhi says
I am lazy bee in cooking. But this looking so tempting and delicious that I have to give this a try.
Joanna says
I am not ready for the summer to go yet either. I don't like low temperatures, I am a summer type of girl. Your recipe sounds lovely and I like how you thought to incorporate the colors of Labor Day into it.
Sreekar says
Following your blog and recipes, I have come to expect such high standards. Loved the simplicity of the recipe with a wonderful result. I will surely try this soon and let you know how it went. Thanks!
Dominique Brooks says
I love shortcakes -- my grandmother used to make these all the time. Thanks for taking me back! Great recipe!
Tamalyn says
This looks so FRESH and delicious! The shortcake part is seriously making my mouth water! I can't wait to try making it! How perfect for summer!
Jessica Lynn Martin says
I can't believe it is almost Labor Day and almost the end of summer either. This recipe looks delicious. We love berries in this house, and I don't like frozen berries so I am sad that we will have start using frozen berries again. I definitely will give this recipe a try!