That beloved shortcake season is finally here, and oh are we excited. Fresh berries and sweetened whipped cream atop a syrup-absorbing “cake”—I’m drooling just writing about it.

Did you know that despite the name, a true shortcake is more biscuit than cake? The clue is in the word “short.”

Eileen Gray, of BAKING SENSE: The Art and Science of Baking, explains that “short” refers to a specific type of dough where fat is cut into the flour. The lumps of fat interfere with gluten development, creating a pastry that is crumbly and tender rather than chewy or stretchy. Shortbread cookies, pie dough, and short-crust pastry are all “short” doughs made the same way.

So, a shortcake is really just a sweetened, enriched biscuit — which is exactly what makes it so good with fruit and cream.

Standard baking powder or buttermilk biscuits are savory, flaky, and function as a bread. What makes a shortcake biscuit different from a regular biscuit is the addition of:

·         sugar—enough to taste like a dessert, not a dinner roll.

·         more baking powder—for a lighter, more open crumb that literally drinks up the juices of the fruit with which it’s topped.

·         addition of eggs—regular biscuits don’t have eggs. The eggs give shortcake biscuits a slightly cakey, more tender texture.

·         no folding — flaky biscuits are folded repeatedly to build layers. Shortcake biscuits skip that step, keeping the crumb soft and absorbent rather than flaky and crisp.

The result is a biscuit that’s rich enough to taste like dessert on its own, but light enough to let the fruit shine.

But there’s a secret to a perfect shortcake biscuit. It’s all about COLD butter and a light hand. Simply put, how you mix a recipe matters as much as what’s in it. You always want cold butter, straight from the refrigerator. Then with a light hand, mix only until just combined.

From the biscuit, we move to the fruit. Whatever fruit you choose, it should always be macerated. Macerated fruit is fresh or dried fruit that has been soaked in a liquid or tossed with sugar to soften its texture and draw out its natural juices. Similar to marinating meat, this no-cook technique yields ultra-juicy fruit and creates a flavorful, sweet syrup.

I’ll close with Eileen’s recipe for a perfect shortcake biscuit. She’s spent years perfecting this, and I’m delighted to share it with you. Her website (www.baking-sense.com) is one of my very favorites, by the way; she always shares tips and techniques for perfect baking outcomes!

Eileen's PERFECT Shortcake Biscuit

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter (cold, cut into ¼" slices)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
extra buttermilk and sugar for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line a ½ sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Whisk together both flours, salt, baking powder, sugar. Toss butter slices into the flour.

Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the pieces are no larger than a pea.

Whisk 2 large eggs into buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk into flour mixture. Toss the mixture with a spoon or spatula until it begins for form a dough. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and lightly knead about 5-10 times to bring the dough together. This is a very wet dough so keep your hands well-floured and use a light touch while kneading. You don't want to knock all the air out of the dough.

Use your hands to pat dough to 3/4" thick. Cut rounds with a 3" biscuit cutter. Gently knead together the scraps to cut remaining biscuits. Place the rounds on the sheet pan. For square shortcakes, pat the dough to a 3/4" thick rectangle and cut the dough into 12 squares. Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.