Berry Berry Shortcake: Like My Mom Made

Okay so the shortcake part of this recipe is a very old family tradition... I kind of amped up the berries a bit with a fresh take for spring: grapefruit simple syrup.

You will want to fix the berries in the morning of the day you want to serve them so that they have plenty of time to sit and mix and make plenty of juice. My Nana used to just cut strawberries and sprinkle sugar on them and leave them all day, but I like to add in unexpected flavors, so this is my take:

One pound fresh strawberries, tops cut off and sliced in half
Handful of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries (fresh preferred on all three)
One grapefruit
1/2 c + 2 Tbsp sugar

Mix all the berries together in a bowl and sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp sugar.

Zest the grapefruit on top of the berries with a microplane grater/zester.



Cut open the grapefruit and juice it, taking care to remove all of the seeds and pulp.

Pour the juice into a small sauce pan and add 1/2 c sugar. Bring to a simmer until thickened, then pour on top of berries and stir. Cover and refrigerate for several hours until ready to serve.




Shortcakes

3 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c solid shortening (crisco)

Using a pastry cutter work together until consistency of meal. I have come to recognize this statement as "mash together until no large pieces remain".



Add 2 beaten eggs. Do not try and pour the eggs on top and mix really fast... you will have bits of bright yellow in your batter and it won't look right. Trust me, beat first.
around 1/2 milk, or a little less.
Mix well. Flour hands and shape into 12 patties. Place in a greased 9x12 baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes (I baked mine for 13 minutes and they were perfect) or until lightly browned. DO NOT BURN!



Split them open and slather with butter. Spoon your berry mixture on top and top with homemade whipped cream.

A cute note on my Nana's recipe card is from a man that ate at the restaurant years ago. "A man eating this in our Tea Room said it was like a religious experience!" I love that. It makes me smile!

Homemade Whipped Cream

1/2 c heavy whipping cream
2-4 Tbsp sugar

Put into a magic bullet cup or small blender or mixer with a whipping blade/paddle and whip on high for as long as it takes to make cream... You will never buy store bought again because it is so easy to do, absolutely delicious, and cheap.

Enjoy!