Hello friends,
I’ve been such a busy bee lately, spinning all the plates and trying not to drop any. Having something to look forward to in these periods, no matter how small, is always ideal, and for me, dessert seems to help. I’ve been itching to be able to spend a whole day making a fancy layer cake filled with curds and ganache and flowers or an enriched dough that requires my attention for hours and hours. Alas, time is not on my side right now, so finding something fairly low effort and still delicious is what I’m leaning towards.
If you’re in a similar boat, and need something sweet without sacrificing a whole day, or even half a day in the kitchen then these shortcakes just might be your answer. They’re appropriately summery and would work just as well for a little weekend brunch as they would for a solo treat - you can freeze unbaked shortcakes and bake one at a time when needed. Dreamy.
So what exactly is a shortcake. Truthfully, I’m not 100% sure. Ordering one will get you different results depending on where you are in the world. In Japan, it’s a super light chiffon sponge cake, filled and covered with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. In parts of the US, you’ll either get a more butter forward, cream layered cake or something that looks more like a scone; split and filled with fruit and cream. The latter is what we’ll be making today.
It’s a very similar vibe to British scone but less sweet and more crumbly. The techniques also differ slightly; we keep the butter more rough and chunky, resulting in something a bit more layered.
I’ve added some cornmeal to mine for extra texture and flavour, creating something slightly resembling a cornbread. My friend Aku makes the most delicious blueberry cornmeal cobbler and it’s a combination that works so well that I’ve used them here instead of the more traditional strawberries.
I hope you’ll be able to steal a bit of time to make these!
Enjoy,
Benjamina x
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