These were a huge success! I am feeling quite proud of myself for making something really new - I have never made shortcakes before (or biscuits or scones)- Opera cake yes, but shortcakes no. They tasted delicious with the cream and a cherry compote I cooked up; one of my co-workers liked the plain shortcake as is, saying it made an excellent breakfast cake to have with his coffee.
I made a half quantity which gave eight large cakes. Although I'm feeling really good about them, I think I still need some practice in getting them light. We had them the next day and they were a little bit dense. I thought the dough was quite dry when making it, even with adding another 2 Tbs. of cream.
I thought the compote was good too; it's from My Recipes website. I used half quantities here as well. It was not too sweet.
Compote:
4 cups pitted sweet cherries (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
To prepare compote, combine cherries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in extract. Cool. Serve with shortcake.
Cathy of The Tortefeasor picked this one for us. It was a wonderful choice. Thank you, Cathy.
