For this week's recipe, I asked facebookworld to weigh in on a choice between another rhubarb-inspired adventure and blueberry shortcakes. They (or I should say you guys – I’m assuming the
audience is the same, right?) opted for blueberries rather than a rhubarb
redux, so bloobs it is. Democracy in action. In retrospect, I’m really
glad this recipe was the winner, because, true to their name, shortcakes do not take
long to prepare, and June is a busy month over here. The only element of the recipe that took some
extended preparation was the whipped cream, but we’ll talk about that later.
First, an observation:
There are quite a few antiquated phrases for the act of
improving the appearance of something that is ordinary or unappealing, and some
of them subscribe to a decidedly porcine inclination: making a purse out of a
sow’s ear, or putting lipstick on a pig. These came to mind when I was thinking
about strawberry shortcakes and preparing my ingredients for this recipe. Now, I’m
not saying that strawberry shortcake is the pig in this analogy per se (also,
who ever said there was anything wrong with pigs? Noble animals for sooth, dependable, and intelligent)…but strawberry shortcake is an awfully
ordinary dessert for the summer season. Delicious, sure, but expected, and
perhaps even getting a little tired now that we’re past the solstice and
barreling toward the dog days. So, while the length of this post's name alone may make it seem sophisticated and complicated, we’re basically just taking
strawberry shortcake and making a few minor tweaks -
churching up a biscuit here and swapping out a berry there – until this
little piggy is so dolled up you'd think she's on her way to the prom. But I digress.
The biscuit assembly was straightforward. Plus, I like
recipes that require kneading so this one gets bonus points in my book.
The recipe told me to use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to make
the rounds, but here in the 4 oz Kitchen we’re in the habit of subbing drinking vessels for cutting tools, so I grabbed a tumbler off the shelf and
went to town. Worked great.
I was able to get 8 good-sized biscuits out of the dough,
so I don’t know how big the recipe authors were making theirs to only get 6. Maybe they
just weren’t as thrifty with their scrap recycling as I am.
The biscuit bake time was the perfect window to get the
blueberry topping ready. Preparing the berries was as simple as adding sugar
and heat and stirring until they looked right. In other places, I’ve seen the
transformation berries undergo during maceration called “giving up their water,”
which I think is delightful.
Both the biscuits and berries need to come to at least
room temperature before the dessert is assembled (the berries can even be chilled in the fridge for a day or two if you want to make them ahead of time).
Okay, so let’s talk about this whipped cream. Here is the
recipe that gave me the idea for a jasmine tea infusion, but I deviated from its
instructions pretty significantly. My version more closely followed the method
for steeping tea in milk for the Earl Grey Teacup Cakes I made last fall. Instead of just plopping the tea bags into cold milk, I heated the milk and then added the tea. I think this released the flavor from
the tea bags better and made the infusion process faster and the final essence of jasmine more pronounced. I had to be really
careful with the heat since this was heavy cream instead of just milk like in
the Earl Grey recipe, so I used a very low flame and watched it the whole time,
stirring frequently as I steeped six tea bags for a good 15 minutes – until just before bubbles began (have you made ganache before? the almost-simmering process here is very similar). Then I took the pan off the heat, covered it with a towel, and let it come to room temperature
before removing the towel, covering the cream + tea bag mixture
with plastic, and refrigerating it overnight. The next day, after the berries and biscuits were done, I just had to
take the milk out of the fridge, remove the tea bags, and whip it up.
The care put into the preparing the cream definitely paid
off. This whipped cream is amazing. I think I found my purpose in life, and it
is to spread the Good News about flavored whipped cream to the uninitiated. It is the
easiest thing in the world to prepare (granted, the tea infusion maybe takes a
little more patience, but that’s a special case), and heavy cream is a blank
canvas. It takes so many flavors so well
– basic extracts like mint and coconut, herbs like lavender and rosemary,
spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and tea! And liquor! And So. Much. More.
Seriously, people. There's no reason to reach for Cool Whip when you’ve got these kinds of easy options at your fingertips.
This recipe has lots of pluses: saturated colors,
high-contrast textures, and flavor for days. I really like the way that none of
the components of this dessert are too sweet: the bitterness of the tea, the
tartness of the berries, the earthiness of the thyme, the sharpness of the
lemon all blend into a flavor that is subtle and mellow and really enjoyable.
This dish is the type whose flavor emerges and evolves from bite to bite. But I feel like describing how something
tastes can be a little bit like explaining what water feels like to fish, so
you really just have to try it and judge for yourself. Or, as Levar Burton would say, “Don’t take my word for it.”
Blueberry
Shortcakes with Lemon and Thyme Biscuits
Ingredients for
the Berries
4 cups (21-22 oz) fresh blueberries, rinsed & drained
well
2/3 cup powdered
sugar
2 Tbsp water
Ingredients for the
Biscuits
¾ cup chilled buttermilk
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon peel (in my world this is
called ‘zest’. Idk why Bon Appétit has to be all verbose about it…)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup packed golden brown sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter cut into 1/3-inch cubes
Raw sugar for dusting (I used Turbinado)
Directions
For the Berries
Combine all ingredients in large saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until berries are slightly softened
and syrup coats spoon, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to medium glass bowl.
**Can be made 2-3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to
room temperature before serving
For the Biscuits
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F.
Line large rimmed baking sheet with silicone baking mat, smooth side up, or
parchment paper.
Mix buttermilk,
lemon peel, and thyme in small bowl.
Whisk next 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend, breaking
up any large clumps of brown sugar with fingertips.
Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture
resembles coarse meal.
Add buttermilk mixture and stir with fork just until
blended (dough will be sticky).
Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Knead
gently just until dough comes together, 4 to 5 turns (do not overwork dough or
shortcakes will be tough).
Pat dough out to 3/4-inch-thick round. Using
3-inch-diameter cookie cutter dipped in flour (or whatever wide-mouth glass happens to
be within arm’s reach), cut out dough rounds. Gently gather dough scraps and
pat out to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out additional rounds, for 6 rounds total. (Again, I was able to easily get 8 when I used the dough up completely.)
Transfer dough rounds to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly
and sprinkle with raw sugar.
Bake biscuits until golden and tester inserted into
center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to rack; cool slightly before cutting, (*or cool
to room temperature, package tightly, and save for up to 3 days…also, please
enjoy the concrete and specific nature of the rest of these directions. Bon
Appétit must think we’re all idiots who don’t know how to cut biscuits or use
plates…)
Using a serrated knife, carefully cut biscuits
horizontally in half. Place bottom half of each biscuit on each of 6 plates.
Spoon blueberries and syrup over, dividing equally. Cover with biscuit tops.
Place scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream alongside each and serve.
Jasmine-Infused
Whipped Cream
Adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp good-quality loose-leaf jasmine tea or 4-6 jasmine
tea bags
1 Tbsp granulated sugar (add more or less to taste)
Directions
To flavor the
cream…
Pour cream into a small sauce pan over low heat and
immediately add tea leaves/bags
Stirring frequently, slowly warm the cream until it is steaming
and the tea begins to release its flavor – do NOT let the cream boil. If you see little bubbles starting to form, ABORT IMMEDIATELY.
After about 10 min, remove from heat, cover pan, and let
it sit until cooled to room temp
Place room-temp cream into refrigerator to cool
*Once cream has chilled thoroughly (1-2 hours minimum),
cream can be whipped at any time. Cream can also chill in the fridge overnight
To whip the cream…
Strain the cream-tea mixture through a fine strainer into
a mixing bowl. Remove and dispose of solids.
Add sugar; beat until peaks form
Note (This may be Bon-Appétit-Level Captain Obvious
Information, but just in case…): The intensity of the tea flavor will be
dictated by how long the tea is left in the cream. For a gentler flavor,
remove tea bags right away when cream comes off the stove. For more intense flavor, leave
them in longer – all the way up until just prior to whipping, if you’d like. For a really strong flavor, steep tea until just before whipping and firmly squeeze the excess cream from the bags into the mixing bowl as you’re
removing them. Also remember that tea will give the cream a bitter flavor, so
taste it before, during, and after the whipping process, and add enough sugar
to ensure the final product is palatable.
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