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Blackberry Shortcakes with Yogurt Whipped Cream

Blackberry Shortcakes with Yogurt Whipped Cream

The end of summer always means the end of shortcake season. In this case, by shortcakes, I mean biscuits or scone-like cakes that are topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Shortcakes are very easy to make entirely from scratch when you’re using biscuits as a base because the biscuits only take a few minutes to put together and can be used fresh out of the oven or made in advance and used at room temperature. For these shortcakes, I used a batch of my Buttermilk Cornmeal Biscuits, although other slightly sweeter biscuits would work equally well.

I opted to make these shortcakes with farmers’ market-fresh blackberries. They were sweet and juicy, but black berries can be a bit too big and firm to be a good shortcake fruit, and they don’t look quite as well sliced up as strawberries do. My solution was to cook them slightly to make them more tender, and add a little bit of extra sweetness by adding some sugar to them as they cooked. I served the blackberries over a big dollop of yogurt whipped cream – lightly sweetened whipped cream with some greek-style yogurt added in to make the cream thicker and even creamier. When they hit the dessert plates, the shortcakes were the perfect blend of biscuits, cream and berries – and it was hard to stop after just one shortcake!

I used fresh blackberries for these shortcakes, but you can also use frozen berries if that is what you have on hand. To use frozen, simply defrost your berries and drain them, reserving just 2-3 tbsp of juice, and add them to the saucepan instead of fresh berries, using the juice instead of the water listed in the recipe. From there, follow along with the regular instructions and serve the sweetened berries over the biscuits.

Blackberry Shortcake, in progress

Blackberry Shortcakes with Yogurt Whipped Cream
1 batch Buttermilk Cornmeal Biscuits or Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (or more, to taste), sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain greek-style yogurt

Bake and cool biscuits.
In a medium saucepan, combine blackberries, sugar and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has been dissolved and blackberries have released some of their juice and are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat whipping cream to soft peaks, then blend in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract. Fold in greek-style yogurt until mixture is smooth and creamy.
Split the biscuits. Add a big dollop of cream to the base of each biscuit, then top with about 1/4 cup blackberries and replace the biscuit tops. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

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9 Comments
  • Lauren
    September 27, 2010

    I love the idea of folding Greek yogurt into whipped cream for a healthier nutritional profile and thicker consistency! I will have to try that technique.

    The shortcakes are beautiful.

  • Rachel
    September 27, 2010

    Ditto: the yogurt whipped cream is a great idea! Of course the entire shortcake looks delicious but that unique twist with the yogurt puts it over the top.

  • Amanda
    September 27, 2010

    Looks so yummy

  • the blissful baker
    September 27, 2010

    looks delicious 🙂 and i love the idea of a yogurt whipped cream!

  • Kitchen Corner
    September 27, 2010

    This dessert looks absolutely tempting! Very yummy!

  • Jenn from Much to My Delight
    September 28, 2010

    Agreed on the brilliance of adding Greek yogurt to whipped cream to cut down on fat. Looks beautiful and very yummy!

  • jean
    September 29, 2010

    looks delicious and yummy

  • Ardna
    September 29, 2010

    ohmygod! love the pictures. it looks so delish.

  • Kasey
    October 2, 2010

    I wish I had some fresh blackberries on hand! These shortcakes look divine–ever since returning home from a trip to New Orleans, I’m a little obsessed with biscuits. Swoon.

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