Chocolate Shortcakes With Mixed Berries And Raspberry Sauce Recipes

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• For Sauce:
• Combine cream and sugar in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until chocolate melts and sauce is smooth. Mix in brandy and vanilla. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.)
• For Biscuit:
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 1 1/2- inch-high sides; dust with flour. Combine 2 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl; whisk to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add chopped chocolate. Gradually add 2/3 cup buttermilk, stirring with fork until dough forms.
• Transfer dough to cake pan; press gently to level top. Brush dough with 2 tablespoons buttermilk, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake biscuit until cooked through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Cool biscuit in pan on rack (biscuit will be 1 to 1 1/2 inches high.)
• For Filling:
• Reserve 8 berries for garnish. Slice remaining berries into large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons sugar and toss to coat; let stand until berries begin to release juices, about 30 minutes. Combine whipping cream, vanilla and 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl. Whip to soft peaks. Cover and chill cream until ready to serve.
• Rewarm sauce over low heat, stirring often. Cut around pan sides to loosen biscuit. Turn biscuit out onto work surface. Using long serrated knife, carefully cut biscuit in half horizontally. Using large spatula as aid, place biscuit bottom on platter. Spoon sliced berries with their juices over. Drizzle with some chocolate sauce. Spoon all but 1/2 cup whipped cream over; cover with biscuit top. Drop reserved whipped cream in dollops onto biscuit. Garnish with reserved whole strawberries. Cut into wedges and serve, passing remaining chocolate sauce separately.

PERFECT BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and 3 Tbs. sugar in a medium bowl. Grate 2 Tbs. of the butter on the coarse holes of a box grater into dry ingredients; toss to coat. Repeat grating and tossing with remaining butter. Combine egg and half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. Toss with a fork to form large clumps. Lightly press clumps into a ball; add a teaspoon more half-and-half to the bowl if dough won't come together.
• Turn dough onto work surface; press into an 8-by-4- to 5-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 squares, placing them 1 inch apart on a small baking sheet. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) Before baking, brush tops with optional egg white for a particularly attractive sheen. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbs. sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix thawed and fresh berries with sugar in a bowl; let stand until sugar dissolves. With a hand mixer, beat cream to soft peaks, gradually adding 1 Tb. sugar, then vanilla.
• Split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries over each cake bottom, then a dollop of whipped cream over berries. Cap with cake top and serve immediately.

OLD-FASHIONED BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat on high speed until mixture is thick and holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface when you raise the whisk, about 5 minutes.
• Place reserved flour mixture on a large piece of parchment paper. Holding paper like a funnel, add flour mixture to egg mixture. With machine running on low speed, mix until just combined. In a steady stream, immediately add oil; mix until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer; detach the whisk. Using the whisk, fold mixture several times.
• Divide batter between pans. Bake cakes, rotating pans halfway through baking time, until the centers spring back when you touch them with your finger, about 30 minutes.
• Immediately turn cakes out onto a wire rack; let stand until completely cool.
• Combine cream, confectioners' sugar, and remaining teaspoon vanilla extract in clean mixer bowl. Scrape in vanilla seeds; reserve pod for another use. Starting on low speed and increasing to medium high, whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Using a serrated knife, slice cakes in half; place one layer on a serving plate. Spread one-fourth of whipped cream over the layer; arrange strawberries on top. Repeat process with remaining layers, cream, and berries. Refrigerate until serving; garnish with mint.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• To prepare shortcakes, heat oven to 400 degrees. Oil bottom of each cup in a 12-cup muffin pan. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Using a pastry blender or an electric mixer, or working by hand, cut in the butter until mixture resembles damp sand. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, sour cream, vanilla and honey. Add to flour mixture, and stir until thoroughly blended.
• Put a scant 1/4 cup dough into each muffin cup. (Do not use muffin papers.) Bake until risen and firm on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool. Then remove from pan, and cool completely. Place 6 shortcakes in an airtight freezer bag, and freeze for another use.
• To prepare filling for 6 shortcakes, whip heavy cream with 2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar until thick but still soft. Add 1/2 cup raspberries to cream, mashing them roughly with a fork.
• Split each shortcake in half horizontally, and place a dollop of raspberry cream onto bottom half. Add a portion of whole raspberries, and put the top back on at an angle. Sprinkle a dusting of the remaining 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar over shortcakes, and serve.

MIXED BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• For the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor (or a large bowl). Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is completely cut into the flour mixture (or use a pastry cutter if using a bowl). Combine the buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup and while pulsing (or stirring) the dough, drizzle in the buttermilk mixture until the dough just comes together and is no longer crumbly.
• Drop the mixture in 8 clumps between 2 baking sheets, then bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• For the berries: Wash the berries, slice the strawberries and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle on the granulated sugar, then add the orange zest and juice. Stir gently, then set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to allow a syrup to develop.
• For the sweet yogurt cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, yogurt, granulated sugar and brown sugar on high until stiff. (Note: It won't get quite as stiff as regular whipped cream.)
• To serve, lay one biscuit on a plate, top with syrupy fruit, then top with a good spoonful of cream.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Make the shortcakes:
• Into a bowl sift together the cocoa powder, the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and stir the mixture with a fork until it forms a dough. Divide the dough in half, arrange each half in a mound on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake the shortcakes in the middle of a preheated 425°F. oven for 12 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centers comes out with crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the shortcakes to a rack and let them cool.
• In a bowl mash 3/4 cup of the raspberries with a fork, stir in 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar and the framboise, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and stir in the remaining 3/4 cup raspberries. In a small bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream until it holds soft peaks, add the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Carefully cut the shortcakes in half horizontally with a serrated knife and with a metal spatula transfer the bottom half of each to an individual plate. (The shortcakes are delicate and crumble easily.) Top each bottom half with half the raspberry mixture, divide the whipped cream between the 2 shortcakes, and with the spatula carefully top each serving with the top half of a shortcake. Sprinkle the shortcakes with the confectioners' sugar and garnish the plates with the mint sprigs.