Neelys Berry Shortcake Recipes

STRAWBERRY SHORTCUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Follow cake directions as written on cake mix box.
• Remove from oven and cool cake completely. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine strawberries, cognac and sugar. Let macerate 20 minutes. Invert and release cake onto a decorative platter.
• Whip cream with confectioners' sugar and vanilla at medium-high speed until it reaches stiff peaks. Do not over whip.
• Mix gelatin as directed on box. Refrigerate gelatin mix but do not let it harden, it should cool to a liquid consistency.
• Using a straw, poke holes all over the cake. Pour gelatin into holes and spread over the top of the cake.
• Spread layer of macerated strawberries on top of cake. Spread layer of whipped cream on top of the strawberries, making pretty swirls and ripples. Garnish with fresh strawberries. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

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.

NEELY'S BERRY PARFAIT

Steps:

• Berry mixture:
• Add 6 ounces raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice to medium bowl. Stir well to incorporate. Allow the berry mixture to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Puree:
• Add 6 ounces of raspberries to a food processor along with 2 tablespoons sugar. Puree until smooth. Remove the raspberry puree to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let chill in the refrigerator.
• Whipped cream:
• Whip the heavy cream with a hand mixer until frothy and thick. Add the sugar and continue to beat until medium peaks appear. Gently fold in the raspberry puree until blended.
• To serve, add a spoonful of the heavy cream to the bottom of an old fashioned glass, top with a spoonful of fruit, and sprinkle with a handful of granola. Repeat the layering once more. Top with a small spoonful of the cream and a few berries on top. Repeat with the remaining glasses and ingredients.

SKINNY BERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• For shortcakes, in a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In a small bowl combine buttermilk and egg yolk. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring just until moistened.
• Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 2- inch cookie cutter, cut dough into 6 desired shaped shortcakes, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake in a 425°F oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
• In a medium bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in yogurt and preserves until smooth.
• Divide shortcakes among 6 dessert plates; top with fresh fruit and yogurt mixture. Serve immediately.

VERY BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Mix pancake mix, milk, and butter together until a dough forms. Drop 1/3 cup portions onto a baking sheet, and bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes (until just slightly brown on top). No need to shape the biscuits. Toss the berries in the sugar. Place 5 biscuits in a bowl, divide the berries and half and half evenly, and pour over the biscuits.

VERY BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Put the strawberries in the colander. Rinse with cool water. Gently pat strawberries dry with the paper towels.
• Remove the stems from strawberries. Cut strawberries into bite-size pieces on the cutting board, using the knife. Put strawberries in a medium bowl.
• Add the 1/2 cup sugar to strawberries. Gently stir with the wooden spoon. Cover bowl with the plastic wrap, and put in refrigerator.
• Heat the oven to 425°. Make the shortcakes by putting the 2 1/3 cups baking mix, half-and-half, 3 tablespoons sugar and margarine in the large bowl. Stir with wooden spoon to make a soft dough.
• Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons baking mix over a clean surface (such as a kitchen counter or breadboard). Put dough on surface. Roll ball of dough around 3 or 4 times. Curve your fingers around and fold dough toward you, then push it away with the heels of your hands, using a quick rocking motion. Repeat 10 times.
• Roll the dough with the rolling pin or pat the dough with your hands until 1/2 inch thick. Use the ruler to measure, if you like. Dip the cookie cutter into a small amount of baking mix, then cut the dough with the cookie cutter. Carefully put dough on the cookie sheet (you do not need to grease the cookie sheet).
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until shortcakes are golden brown. Use the pot holders to take cookie sheet out of oven. Take shortcakes off cookie sheet, using the pancake turner. Cool shortcakes on the wire cooling rack before topping them.
• Cut the shortcakes in half to make a top and a bottom. Put bottoms of shortcakes on the dessert plates. Spoon some of the strawberries over the shortcake bottoms. Cover with shortcake tops. Top with the rest of the strawberries and the whipped topping.

SUMMER BERRY STACKED SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trace an 8-inch circle onto two pieces of parchment paper. Line two baking sheets with the paper, writing-side down.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, cream and egg in a liquid measuring cup.
• Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is the size of small peas. Make a well in the center and pour in the liquid. Stir the mixture together until just combined, then use your hands to knead it a few times until the dough comes together. It will be the texture of thick cookie dough.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces, place each onto one of the prepared baking sheets and use lightly damp hands to press it into a circle just inside the traced line. (Do your best to pat the tops flat while keeping the edges perpendicular to the pan.) Chill the dough on the baking sheets in the refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes (dough can be chilled up to 4 hours). Just before baking, sprinkle each round with 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar.
• Bake the shortcakes until golden and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool completely.
• While the shortcakes are cooling, macerate the berries and make the cream: Add berries, sugar, lemon and vanilla to a large bowl. Use a fork to gently mash up to 1/4 cup of the berries. (This doesn't have to be exact, but you want to create a little bit of liquid if your berries aren't naturally super juicy.) Stir gently to combine and let sit for about 30 minutes.
• For the cream, add the yogurt, sugar, vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add the heavy cream, and whip until very firm peaks form. (You can complete the shortcakes, cream and berries up to 4 hours in advance, refrigerating the cream and berries until ready to serve.)
• To serve, place one of the cooled shortcakes on a serving plate. Top with half of the cream followed by half the berries. (Don't spread the cream quite to the edges, as it will spread when you add the other shortcake.) Repeat with the remaining shortcake, cream and berries. If there is a lot of extra berry juice left in the bowl, serve it alongside the cake.
• Slice the cake with a long serrated knife and serve. The shortcake can be layered up to about 1 hour in advance and stored in the fridge. It will soften as it sits.

TWO-BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Make biscuits:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until a soft, sticky dough forms.
• Drop dough in 6 mounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes.
• Make filling:
• While biscuits bake, gently mash half of berries with 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in remaining berries.
• Make cream:
• Beat cream together with sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
• Carefully cut biscuits in half horizontally and arrange 1 bottom half, split side up, on each of 6 plates. Top each with berries, whipped cream, and other half of biscuit.