Shortcake

by Andrea Gámez

Shortcake is a british dessert from the 16th century, the “short” part has nothing to do with size, but with it being friable or brittle, because the original recipe is made by mixing flour with a lot of butter until you get a sand like mixture, to which you then add some other liquid ingredients to get a dough.

Nowadays, shortcake is really common in the USA and Canada, where it is usually eaten with whipped cream and strawberries and has a fluffy consistency because of the baking powder used while baking it.

Jump to Recipe

Of course there are many recipes to make shortcake, but the one we bring you here isn´t the original since we actually made it to be cake like and dense. I like it that way since it is a less sticky and buttery dough or batter, but it isn´t better or worse, just different.

Cake + strawberries + whipped cream. Each summer has a song, the most famous that season, which changes every year. And we can´t take this recipe out of our heads, it is delicious anytime of the day.

Shortcake, being a dense dough, is a perfect dessert to eat along something light and acid such as cream and strawberries, but you can also use chocolate, dulce de leche, coconut or nuts. You already know that when it comes to decorating you just have to be creative and work with what you have on hand.

Shortcake, the cake itself, can be used as a base for other recipes because it has a neutral flavor to it, it is ideal to absorb syrups or liquids and it isn´t brittle.

And to enjoy shortcake you only have to make it and eat a good portion, so let´s go to the recipe.

If you like this recipe you will love our berries meringue cake recipe!

Shortcake

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine English
Servings 10

Ingredients
  

For the biscuit:

  • 3/4 C (6 oz) (170 gr) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3/4 C (5.30 oz) (150 gr) granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs separated
  • 1 tsp (0.16 fl oz) (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C (4 fl oz) (120 ml) whole milk
  • 2 1/2 C (11.50 oz) (325 gr) all purpouse flour
  • 1 tsp (0.25 oz) (7 gr) baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp (0.08 oz) (2 gr) salt

For the cream and toppings:

  • 6.8 oz (190 gr) cream cheese at room temperature
  • 3/4 C (3.30 oz) (93 gr) confectioners sugar
  • 1 tsp (0.17 fl oz) (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp (0.12 oz) (3.5 gr) salt
  • 2 C (16.23 fl oz) (480 ml) whipping cream
  • Fresh strawberries

Instructions
 

For the biscuit:

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
  • Separate the eggs and put the egg whites in a large clean bowl and the egg yolks in another small bowl that you will cover with plastic wrap so that the yolks don´t dry.
  • In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and set aside. 
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter along with the sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add the egg yolks one by one, and then the vanilla extract.
  • Incorporate the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. 
  • In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, and then incorporate them slowly to the previous mix. 
  • Pour the mixture onto two cake pans, greased and floured, and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until they turn golden brown. 
  • Once they´re ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Let them cool completely before decorating.

For the cream and assembly:

  • To make the cream, in a bowl beat together the cream cheese, confectioners sugar and salt until fluffy. In another bowl, whip the whipping cream and incorporate it carefully to the cream cheese mixture. 
  • Wash the strawberries and cut them the way you prefer. 
  • Place a piece of biscuit in a plate and then spread half of the cream and strawberries. Put the second biscuit piece on top, then spread the rest of the cream and decorate with strawberries the way you prefer. 
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

You may also like

Leave a Comment

* By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.