Authors: Barbara Fairchild

Bon Appetit Desserts (117 page)

BOOK: Bon Appetit Desserts

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Lemon juice and fresh blueberries make this a lovely summery dessert, but it can be prepared at any time of year with frozen blueberries. The lemon cream is ultra-simple to make.
Makes 6

Berry Compote

7 cups wild blueberries or regular blueberries, or 16 ounces frozen wild blueberries or regular blueberries (do not thaw)

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Lemon Cream

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

Cakes

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon chilled heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

BERRY COMPOTE
: Cook blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and bubbles, about 10 minutes. Continue to cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool.

LEMON CREAM
: Whisk lemon juice, sugar, and egg yolks in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture is thick and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer lemon curd to bowl and set aside to cool completely.

DO AHEAD
:
Berry compote and lemon curd can be made 2 days ahead. Cover separately and chill.

Whip cream in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold half of cream into lemon curd to lighten; fold in remaining cream. Cover and chill lemon cream until ready to assemble shortcakes.

CAKES
: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place sugar and lemon peel in large bowl. Press with back of spoon to release oils from peel. Reserve 2 tablespoons lemon sugar in small bowl. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to lemon sugar in large bowl; whisk to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix ⅓ cup cream and lemon juice in small bowl. Pour cream mixture over flour mixture and stir with fork to form dough. Gather dough into ball; press out to 1-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Using 2½-inch-diameter cutter, cut out rounds. Gather dough scraps; press out to 1-inch thickness and cut out additional rounds to form 6 shortcakes total. Transfer cake rounds to heavy baking sheet.

Brush cake tops with remaining 1 tablespoon cream and sprinkle with reserved lemon sugar. Bake shortcakes until just golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Using serrated knife, cut warm or room-temperature shortcakes in half horizontally. Place bottom halves, cut side up, on each of 6 plates. Top cake halves with berry compote and lemon cream. Cover with cake tops and serve.

Peach Melba Shortcakes

Legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier created the classic peach Melba—vanilla ice cream topped with poached peaches and raspberry sauce—to honor Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba. In this updated version, peaches and raspberries are layered between airy sponge cakes, and whipped cream replaces the ice cream. (You could also try it with nectarines and blackberries.) The tartlet pans used in this recipe can be found at cookware stores. If you don’t have them, you can use mini cheesecake pans or make one large shortcake in an 8-inch-diameter tart pan and then cut the cake into wedges.
Makes 6

Cakes

Melted butter

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¼ cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk

Sauce and Topping

1 12-ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed

¼ cup sugar

4 large peaches, peeled, halved, pitted, sliced

1 ½-pint container raspberries

6 tablespoons sugar, divided

1½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Powdered sugar

CAKES
: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush six 4-inch-diameter tartlet pans with 1⅛-inch-high sides and removable bottoms with melted butter. Place pans on rimmed baking sheet. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over mixture in bowl. Beat until almost blended, then add buttermilk and beat just until combined. Divide batter among prepared pans (about scant ½ cup each).

Bake cakes until golden and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to rack; cool 5 minutes. Push up bottoms of pans to release cakes. Cool cakes on rack.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

SAUCE AND TOPPING
: Puree raspberries in processor. Strain into medium bowl, pressing on solids to release sauce. Discard solids in strainer. Stir sugar into raspberry puree.

DO AHEAD
:
Berry sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Combine peaches, fresh raspberries, and 4 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl; toss to coat. Let stand until juices form, about 30 minutes. Beat cream, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until peaks form.

Using serrated knife, cut cakes in half horizontally. Lightly sift powdered sugar over cake tops. Place 1 cake bottom on each of 6 plates. Gently toss fruit mixture. Top each cake bottom with fruit mixture, dividing equally. Spoon whipped cream atop each, then cover with cake tops. Spoon raspberry sauce around shortcakes and serve.

Shortcake Tips

The ideal shortcakes are flaky, tender, and fluffy. Here’s how to achieve that state of shortcake perfection.

FLAKY
: Use very cold butter or shortening and chilled liquid, such as milk, cream, or buttermilk. Gently mix the butter or shortening with the flour just until the mixture resembles coarse meal and pea-size pieces of butter or shortening are visible—the water in the butter (plus water in the dough) releases steam during baking, which lifts the dough and makes the shortcakes flaky.

TENDER
: Use a gentle hand when mixing liquid into the dough. Once it begins to clump together, pat the dough out (don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfectly smooth); never knead shortcake dough as you would bread dough.

FLUFFY
: When cutting shortcakes with a biscuit cutter, press the cutter through the dough without twisting it; twisting seals the edges and prevents the shortcakes from rising. Alternately, use a
very sharp
knife to cut out squares or triangles.

Oatmeal Shortcakes with Spiced Plums

A handful of oats adds texture to decadent shortcakes. The key to making the delicate, tender cakes is to handle the dough as little as possible; once the milk is added, stir gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened and come together as a dough.
Makes 6

Cakes

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup old-fashioned oats

½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

⅔ cup whole milk

2 teaspoons sugar

Plums

1 pound firm but ripe plums (about 6), halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 wedges

⅓ cup sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup chilled heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

CAKES
: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; stir just until dough forms.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions; form six 2½-inch-diameter biscuits. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake biscuits until golden and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature.

PLUMS
: Combine plums, sugar, lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon in heavy medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until plums release their juices but are still firm, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add butter; stir until melted. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat cream and powdered sugar in large bowl until peaks form. Using serrated knife, slice off top ⅓ of biscuits. Transfer biscuit bottoms to each of 6 plates. Spoon half of plum mixture over biscuits. Spoon whipped cream atop plum mixture. Spoon remaining plum mixture atop cream, dividing equally. Place biscuit tops over and serve immediately.

Pear-Cornmeal Shortcakes with Oven-Roasted Pears

Traditionally, shortcakes are filled with sweetened, uncooked fresh fruit, so the oven-roasted pears and cranberries in this recipe break some rules. If you don’t have a 2¾-inch-diameter biscuit cutter, use a sharp knife to cut out six square shortcakes.
Makes 6

Pears

4 firm but ripe Anjou or Bosc pears (about 1¾ pounds), peeled, halved, cored, each half cut into 6 wedges

½ cup apricot preserves

6 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1½ tablespoons water

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)

Cakes

1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons sugar