Blueberry Mango Shortcake

In preparation for a Gals Clothing Swap that my roommate and I hosted in our apartment this weekend, I wanted to whip up some delicious breakfast-y treats for our guests. We already had our drink menu planned: blueberry mimosas and some strong french press coffee.

My stomach called out for shortcake, but I decided to diverge from the typical strawberry variety (not that there’s anything wrong with a classic shortcake presentation, which I’ve been known to make for friends with summer birthdays). This time, I dreamed up a slightly more unique fruit combination: mango, blueberry, and basil.

In my opinion, you can pretty much pair basil up with any fruit, and it’s going to be delicious. I love salads with chopped fresh herbs, and I’ve been tossing fresh basil and parsley into my greens so often these past few weeks, why not try it with something sweet?

Ingredients:

For fruit:
3 ripe mangos, peeled and diced
1 pint blueberries, rinsed
½-3/4c sugar
2c basil, rinsed, dried and chiffoned.
1 pint heavy cream

For shortcake:

2/3 c shortening
4c flour
4 tbsp sugar
6 tsp baking powder
3 tsp salt
1 1/2c milk

To macerate fruit:

Toss your diced mango, pint of blueberries, and 1 ½ c basil into a medium bowl. (Reserve another at least 1/2c basil to top the dessert before serving). Sprinkle sugar on top—adding more or less to taste. Stir in order to distribute sugar evenly. Cover bowl with saran wrap and store in fridge – for the time being.

To make shortcake, using a food processor:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss your flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into large bowl. Whisk briefly to combine. Transfer dry mix into food processor that’s on the base and ready to go. Now place shortening in chunks on top of dry mix. Pulse processor 5-7 times to ‘cut’ shortening into dry mix. You want the mixture to look like fine crumbs—then you know it’s time to add the milk. Add milk in a steady stream while slowly pulsing processor—don’t over combine! Do this step in short pulses, and keep checking on the mix to see if it’s ready. If the mix looks a little too wet and sticky when it’s combined, add a bit of flour (I’d start with 1/4c).

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, and knead 20-25 times.

Roll or flatten into ½” shape, and use round floured pastry cutter (2-3”) to cut into individual shortcakes. (If you don’t have a cutter—just use the mouth of a small glass—just be sure to flour it well). This dough should yield about 2 dozen cakes.

Place cakes onto greased baking sheet (or cover baking sheet with a Silpat). Bake for 10-12 minutes until dough rises and is golden on top.

Now that the cakes are in—make your whipped cream! Use egg beaters or a wire whisk in a glass or metal bowl and simply whisk the heavy cream until you have fluffy soft peaks. (I don’t add sugar to mine because I prefer it unsweetened—but if you want to add sugar—go for it! Use 1/2c or so, to taste.)

After the shortcake is baked, cook it on wire rack for a few — but it’s always great to serve them slightly warm so the whipped cream melts into the cake. I usually slice them open like biscuits and spoon whipped cream and berries into the middle, then top with a bit more whipped cream and the extra basil.

YUM!

I had to make sure these gals were well fed while they scavenged for clothes!

(if you look ever so closely you may find another dish in the mix!)

Now, it’s my turn to enjoy.