My love for anything involving fresh berries and cream began when I was a little girl. I distinctly remember my Dad asking me what I wanted for breakfast when I was about four years old and my reply was a quick one– ‘strawberries and cream.’ He smiled and looked at me as he turned around and looked in the refrigerator. ‘Unfortunately honey it looks like we are all out of strawberries,’ he said. I shrugged my shoulders and said, ‘No problem, just cream will be fine.’ This is still the case! I love both berries and whipped cream, but when combined, their stock goes up that much more.
Craving a mixed berry shortcake this week, I decided to make a version composed of whole wheat pastry flour and not only butter in the dough, but a touch of cream cheese as well. The results, when paired with a colorful mix of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, as well as an almond extract-flavored whipped cream were out-of-this-world delicious. For a bit of crunch I also added some slivered almonds to the mix. A wonderful way to take advantage of the fresh berries that are starting to pop up in the store and on the farmers market stands, my Whole Wheat Shortcakes with Mixed Berries & Almond Cream is sure to be a big hit.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Whole Wheat Shortcakes with Mixed Berries & Almond Cream
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 1 oz. cream cheese, cold, cut into small pieces
- 6 Tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
- Mixed fresh berries
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Slivered almonds, for garnish
- Fresh mint, for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with a cooking spray. To make the shortcakes, combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add in the small pieces of cold butter and cream cheese; using either a pastry cutter or your hands, combine the ingredients together until the mixture is composed of coarse, pea-sized crumbs. Add in the buttermilk and stir together with a rubber spatula to combine. (This will be a sticky, wet dough)
- Form the dough into four rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. (When you insert a knife into their center, it should come out clean.)
- In the meantime, whip the cream, along with the teaspoon of sugar and the almond extract, until soft peaks form.
- To assemble, place some fresh berries on a plate, top with some of the cream and then the shortcake. Garnish with almond slivers and fresh mint.
Tagged: almond cream, berry shortcake, blueberries, cream cheese, dessert, mixed berries, Raspberries, shortcakes, slivered almonds, strawberries, whipped cream, whole wheat flour, whole wheat shortcakes
Love all of your recent recipes especially shortcakes and cornbread muffins!
Have you ever made a Pavlova? Baked beaten egg whites with fresh strawberries, whipping cream and sliced almonds on top.
Thanks Mrs.Jan! I love cooking with all of this lovely early spring produce. I made these cornbread muffins for our Mardi Gras party, and they were a big hit alongside the gumbo. Funny that you mention a pavlova, the first time I made one was in Italy, but just recently tore a recipe out of a Louisiana magazine to make…and soon!
Enjoy your week.
A few years ago I cut a recipe out of the Advocate shared by someone wo says it is a traditional recipe in New Zealand and Australia. We love it but you do have to beat the egg whites for 10 minutes. Love Spring and we are able to get nice bags of fresh vegetables at Trader Joe’s.
Yum! I would love to compare your recipe to the one I clipped from the magazine! Also popular with a passion fruit sauce, too if I’m not mistaken…and sometimes a peach melba sort of sauce? Yum again!!