Celebrate Spring with Fresh Berry Shortcake
The daffodils are blooming, the sun seems to make longer appearances each day, and I can almost hear the hop-hop-hop of a little Easter bunny coming my way. It must be spring! (At least, I remain hopeful, even with the ever-present Seattle rain...) To give spring a warm welcome this past weekend, I baked up a special, sunshiney dessert--berry shortcake!
Now, normally I'd make little shortcake biscuits in roundish shapes, or, if I didn't have much time, buy some premade shortcakes at the store (which, frankly, are never as good as they should be, especially for the price). But, as a special little present to myself for surviving Seattle's unusually snowy winter, I treated myself to Nordic Ware's new shortcake basket pan.The pan makes six perfect little baskets, and it comes with a tasty shortcake recipe too. It was really simple to whip up, though I did find that the cavities overflowed a bit as the cakes baked. Next time, I'll only fill them a little past the middle indentation. Also, don't miss the first essential step to perfect cakes--coating the cavities well with a baking spray with flour. Definitely essential for these delicate little baskets.
After the baking comes the fun part--what to fill the baskets with! I went traditional on my first round--just whipped cream and fresh berries. But, the little baskets just call out to be filled with pudding or mousse. Or a thin layer of jam, then custard. Or a scoop of ice cream just before serving. Or... Well, you see my problem. What a good problem to have, though! My second time out, I filled the baskets with banana pudding, then topped with whipped cream and berries. Both husband and toddler were ecstatic, as was I.
One thing that really made my shortcakes shine was freshly whipped cream. For Christmas I received an iSi cream whipper. It had been on my wish list for quite a long time, but was one of those totally not essential items that I preferred to receive as a gift instead of buy for myself (I'm funny that way). But, let me tell you, this whipper is a revelation! I get crazy excited every time I get to use it (I'm funny that way too). It really is shear genius, and has actually become a totally essential, nonessential item in my kitchen. It was particularly great with the shortcakes, since I could bring it to the table and serve up shortcakes-to-order for each person.
For the next batch of shortcakes I'm thinking of trying something chocolatey. A nice cocoa shortcake, filled with raspberry mousse, topped with whipped cream, and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Yes--that's the one! The possibilities seem endless going into spring and summer--so many delicious fruits just waiting to be dropped into my little shortcake baskets! I'm looking forward to fresh shortcakes for Easter, and secretly (oops, not any longer...) hoping said husband and toddler might make me some special shortcakes for Mother's Day. Well, even if they won't, I've got a few more ideas to try out...
--KitchenMaus
Maria on March 24, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Beautiful dessert. I have a similar pan, I will have to make these and soon!
Mano on March 24, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Beautiful dessert
http://www.manojsrikanth.blogspot.com/
CakeSpy on March 25, 2009 at 08:38 AM
This is what spring means to me: the beginning of fresh berries, and my favorite spring / summer dessert, strawberry shortcake! I'm intrigued by the chocolate shortcake idea too!
LeAndrew Taylor on March 25, 2009 at 04:17 PM
'Awesome' dessert! Yum! Yum! Yummy!