Berry shortcakes

8
Points®
Total Time
42 min
Prep
30 min
Cook
12 min
Serves
12
Difficulty
Moderate
Shortcakes are rich, crumbly, sweet biscuits similar to Scottish scones that are split to sandwich a layer of fruit or berries—strawberries being a classic. The name short comes from the English term for non-yeast doughs that have a high proportion of fat to flour. The key to tender, delicate shortcakes is a light touch. If you don't want to make homemade dough, you can substitute slices of angel food cake, pound cake, or sponge cake here with delicious results. Mixing whipped topping with Greek yogurt yields a surprisingly rich and tasty cream filling to top the fruit.

Ingredients

Sugar

½ cup(s)

All-purpose flour

2 cup(s)

Baking powder

2 tsp

Table salt

½ tsp

Baking soda

¼ tsp

1% low fat buttermilk

¾ cup(s)

Canola oil

3 Tbsp

Egg

1 large egg(s)

Lemon zest

1½ tsp, grated

Blueberries

1½ cup(s)

Strawberries

2 pound(s), hulled and sliced

Sugar

cup(s)

Raspberries

12 oz

Fat free whipped topping

1½ cup(s)

Plain fat free Greek yogurt

1 cup(s), or other brand

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.
  2. To make the shortcakes, reserve 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Whisk together the flour, the remaining sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, egg, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and blueberries to the flour mixture; stir just until the flour mixture is moistened (the dough will be soft).
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface; turn to coat with the flour. Lightly knead 2 times. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 3⁄4-inch-thick square. Lightly spray a long, thin knife with nonstick spray. Cut the dough into 12 squares. Place the shortcakes on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart; sprinkle with the reserved1 tablespoon of sugar. Bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 12 minutes. Transfer the shortcakes to a rack and let cool.
  4. To make the filling and topping, combine the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes to allow the juices to form; gently stir in the raspberries. Fold together the whipped topping and yogurt in a medium bowl just until combined.
  5. Split the shortcakes. Place the bottom halves of the shortcakes on plates and top evenly with the strawberry mixture and yogurt topping. Cover with the tops of the shortcakes. Serve at once. Yields 1 shortcake, 1⁄2 cup berries, and scant 1⁄4 cup topping per serving.

Notes

Stir the ingredients together just enough to form a soft dough. A quick kneading is all that’s necessary to bring the dough together nicely.