Best Blackberry And Rhubarb Shortcake Recipes

STRAWBERRY AND RHUBARB SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Stir together rhubarb, sugar, limoncello, and cornstarch for filling in a saucepan just until cornstarch dissolves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until rhubarb is softened and mixture is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in strawberries.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for biscuits in a large bowl. Add butter and stir until coated. Cut in butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse, wet sand. (It should hold together when squeezed, then crumble away.)
• Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl; pour into the flour mixture and quickly stir with a fork. When mixture begins to hold together, transfer to a floured surface.
• Knead just until a dough ball forms. Press into a 7x10-inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Fold into thirds, then press into a 5x7-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick.
• Cut dough into 8 biscuits and arrange 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with whipping cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool about 15 minutes.
• Slice biscuits in half; serve with filling and whipped cream.

BUTTERMILK SHORTCAKES WITH RHUBARB AND BERRIES

Steps:

• Prepare baking sheet Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut butter into dry ingredients Whisk together flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the butter into the flour until the largest pieces are the size of small peas.
• Mix dough Rub the vanilla seeds into the buttermilk with your fingers (this is the best way to disperse the seeds, but alternatively, you can scrape the bean against the side of the measuring cup with a rubber spatula). Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until most of the ingredients have come together into a moist dough (it's okay if some flour is left on bottom of bowl).
• Form biscuits Turn out dough onto a clean work surface and gather any loose bits together. Press lightly to fully incorporate all the ingredients while patting into a rough rectangle, being careful not to overwork the dough. Fold dough into thirds: Starting with a short end, carefully fold over, then fold the other end over the first.. (The folding adds an extra layering of flakiness to the finished biscuits.) Pat out dough until 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a floured biscuit cutter, cut dough into 2 1/2-inch rounds.
• Bake Preheat oven to 400°F. Place rounds on prepared cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Gather together scraps; pat out again, and cut once. Chill 20 minutes. Brush tops with the cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake 10 minutes, and rotate sheet. Reduce heat to 375°F, and continue to bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes more. Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool.
• Serve Split biscuits, and layer with whipped cream and rhubarb compote. Serve berries on the side. Or, set out a platter of biscuits and bowls of each topping and let guests build their own shortcakes. Biscuits are best eaten the day they are made.
• IN A DEEP MIXING BOWL set in a large ice-water bath, whisk cream by hand until soft peaks form. Sprinkle with the sugar, add vanilla, and whisk until soft peaks return. Do not overbeat.
• Prepare rhubarb Wash rhubarb well and dry thoroughly with paper towels (wipe each stalk to remove any grit). Cut crosswise on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces (you should have about 5 cups).
• Make poaching syrup Bring sugar, water, zests, and salt to a boil in a large straight-sided skillet, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add rhubarb, and stir to coat in sugar syrup. (There won't be enough syrup to cover, but the compote will become more liquidy once the fruit starts to release its juices.) Cover and cook over medium-low heat until rhubarb is just tender, about 5 minutes. (Do not overcook; you want most of the rhubarb pieces to hold their shape.)
• Cool Remove from heat and let cool completely, about 1 hour, before using. Compote can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week.
• IN A BOWL, toss berries with sugar and lemon juice to combine. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to draw out some of the juices before serving.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and continue to beat until very fluffy, about 2 minutes longer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and eggs. Add half the flour mixture and half the egg mixture to the creamed butter and beat until combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg mixture. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and beat the batter on medium-high speed for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan, spread the top evenly and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top sprigs back to the touch, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• For the filling: Combine the rhubarb with 1/2 cup of the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and continue to cook, stirring, until the rhubarb cooks down into a thick puree, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely, then fold in half of the strawberries. Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar into the remaining berries.
• For the whipped cream: When ready to assemble the cake, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer until stiff peaks form.
• Using a serrated knife, slice the cake in half horizontally and place the bottom half on a cake stand or serving plate cut-side up. Spread with 1 cup of the whipped cream, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge of the cake, then top with the strawberry-rhubarb mixture. Place the second half of the cake cut-side dow, over the strawberry-rhubarb filling and spread the remaining whipped cream over top, going close to the edge of the cake. Garnish with the remaining sliced strawberries.

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.

RHUBARB SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix 1 cup flour, butter, and confectioners' sugar together in a bowl; pack the mixture firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust hardens slightly and is very fragrant, but not yet browned, about 15 minutes.
• Whisk brown sugar, eggs, white sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and salt together in a bowl until completely smooth; add rhubarb and stir to coat. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the crust.
• Bake in oven until the rhubarb mixture sets, about 40 minutes; cool at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.