Rustic Blackberry Shortcakes

Sweet, buttery,  tender rustic shortcakes overflowing with sweet local blackberries, and lightly sweetened whipped cream.  These rustic blackberry shortcakes are bursting seasonal flavor. 

I love making drop biscuits for shortcake because there is no rolling out or cutting the dough. Grating partially frozen butter and tossing the shreds into the flour mixture eliminated the chore of cutting int the butter.  The biscuits mix up in just minutes and are so easy. I love these shaggy rustic biscuits to soak up the sweet juices from my local berries.

How to Make Simple Rustic Shortcakes

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1. Preheat oven to 400℉.  Measure and prepare ingredients for the shortcakes.  Using a box grater, grate the partially frozen butter.  Return the grated butter to the freezer while preparing dry ingredients.
2. In a medium-size mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and nutmeg.  Whisk or sift the dry ingredients together.
3. Remove grated butter from the freezer and gently toss it into the flour mixture.
4. Add the buttermilk in all at once.
5. Take a fork and gently mix in the buttermilk.  You do not want to overmix. 
6. Mix just until no longer looks dry.  Do not overmix.

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1. Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to measure out dough and drop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Brust the tops with a little bit of buttermilk.
3. Sprinkle tops with sugar.  I like to use turbinado for extra crunch.
4. Bake in the preheated oven.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are a light golden color.  Remove from oven and let shortcakes cool for a minute then transfer to a cooling rack until ready to use.

Blackberry Filling

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1. Wash and drain the berries in a colander or strainer.  Reserve 2 cups fresh berries.
2. Add 4 cups of the berries to a small saucepan. 
3. Add sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon to the berries.
4. Once the mixture begins to steam, take the back of a spoon or a fork and partially crush some of the berries to help release juices.  Don’t allow the fruit to come to a full boil.  Jus heat long enough to dissolve sugar crystals.

Rustic Blackberry Shortcakes Assembly

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1. In a medium-size mixing bowl add cold cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat until soft peaks form.  Set aside.
2. Cut the biscuits in half.  Place the bottom half of the biscuit on a serving plate.
3. Spoon the warm berry mixture on top of the bottom biscuit.  Arrange reserved fresh berries.
4. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Set a biscuit top on the cream. Pass any extra puree at the table.

5 from 3 votes

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Rustic Blackberry Shortcakes

Sweet, buttery,  tender rustic shortcakes overflowing with sweet local blackberries, and lightly sweetened whipped cream.  These rustic blackberry shortcakes are bursting seasonal flavor. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword blackberry cobbler, blackberry recipes, blackberry shortcake recipe, drop biscuits, Rustic blackberry shortcakes

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 656 kcal

Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

Biscuits:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
• 1/2 cup butter unsalted partially frozen, grated on a box grater
• 1 cups buttermilk cold

For the Blackberries:

• 6 cups blackberries picked over, rinsed and patted dry
• ¼ cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon water
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh squeezed

For the Whipped Cream:

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream chilled
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the biscuits:

1. Set a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or lightly grease. Set aside

2. Using a box grater, grate partially frozen butter onto a plate. Spread grated butter around the plate and return to the freezer. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Sprinkle chilled, grated butter over flour mixture and gently toss with your hands to coat the butter with the flour mixture. Using a fork gently stir in the buttermilk until the dough just holds together with no large, dry lumps.

3. Spoon the dough onto the baking sheet in six equal mounds. Brush the tops with buttermilk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake until the peaks have begun to brown and the bottoms are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest for 1 minute and then transfer to a wire rack. While still slightly warm, slice them open with a serrated knife.

To make the blackberry filling:

1. Set aside 2 cups of the berries. In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, combine the remaining 4 cups of blackberries, sugar, water, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Over medium heat, warm the berries until they begin to steam. Using a fork or the back of a spoon, smash some of the berries. Once the sugar has dissolved remove from the heat. Taste and add lemon juice and more sugar, if necessary. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate.

2. When ready to serve, reheat the blueberry sauce until warm and stir in the reserved blackberries.

To make the whipped cream:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until medium peaks form and the beaters leave tracks on top of the cream.

To assemble:

1. Put the bottom half of each biscuit on a plate. Spoon on about a ½ cup of the blackberry mixture, additional fresh berries, and a dollop of cream. Cover with the biscuit top. Serve immediately, passing any remaining blackberry mixture at the table.

Recipe Notes

• Blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries may be used in place or in addition to blackberries.
• Do NOT overmix the shortbread mixture.  Handle the dough as little as possible to maintain a tender crumb.  
• This is a very simple recipe I can't think of anything that can go wrong other than over mixing the shortcake dough.  
• Enjoy!  😋

Nutrition Facts

Rustic Blackberry Shortcakes

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 656 Calories from Fat 360

% Daily Value*

Fat 40g62%

Saturated Fat 24g120%

Cholesterol 127mg42%

Sodium 494mg21%

Potassium 511mg15%

Carbohydrates 69g23%

Fiber 9g36%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 1722IU34%

Vitamin C 33mg40%

Calcium 195mg20%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post was previously published in 2010.  Updates have been made along with photos, nutritional information, and recipe card.

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