Double Blueberry Shortcakes

Strawberry shortcakes may be a summer classic, but you can make a delicious shortcake with any kind of fresh fruit. The dessert will look even better if you opt for a fruit that is just as colorful as fresh strawberries – like fresh blueberries. Juicy, bright blueberries do just as well as strawberries in a shortcake because, when they are at their peak, they don’t need to be cooked or baked into anything to really shine. Giving them the support of a light, buttery biscuit and some whipped cream is more than enough to put the spotlight on them!

These Double Blueberry Shortcakes start with a biscuit-like cake that is made with blueberries, and are filled with fresh blueberries and whipped cream. The berries I used in the biscuit are dried (if you have them, freeze-dried blueberries work very well, too), which add some blueberry flavor and some nice pops of color to the biscuits. Since they don’t add much moisture to the dough, which fresh blueberries would, the biscuit keeps its light and slightly flaky texture, and doesn’t become too cakey or soft. The buttery biscuits are lightly sweetened and also have a hint of vanilla to them.

The filling is simple: a combination of lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh blueberries. You can’t go wrong – but you can mix things up a bit if you love blueberries and find yourself looking for a little variety. A little bit of lemon zest or extract in the whipped cream will really brighten up this dessert, and a splash of rum in the whipped cream will give this a more grown up feel. Or you could do what I do and just serve them with a big bowl of extra blueberries on the side.

Double Blueberry Shortcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried blueberries
2 cups lightly sweetened whipped cream
16-oz fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut butter into small pieces, toss in the flour mixture, and cut in with your fingertips until mixture looks sandy and no pieces of butter larger than a pea remain.
Add in milk and vanilla and stir with a fork until the dough just comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a few extra teaspoons of milk.
Stir in blueberries, then turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until berries are well-distributed. Press dough into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and cut into 8 equal pieces (you can do squares, rectangles, triangles or circles). Place onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, until set and lightly browned.
Allow to cool on a wire rack.

When shortcakes are cool, slice them in half and fill each with about 1/4 cup whipped cream and 3-4 tbsp blueberries.

Makes 8.