Blueberry Shortcakes
These Blueberry Shortcakes feature buttery biscuits filled with whipped cream and blueberry sauce. This recipe is great for summer brunch or dessert!
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Strawberry shortcakes may be more popular, but this blueberry version deserves some attention in the spotlight, too! By definition, a shortcake is either a sweet cake or a crumbly biscuit (the American kind). They are typically split or sliced in half and filled with whipped cream and fresh berries. Just let that sink in – crispy, crumbly, buttery biscuits filled with whipped cream and berries. Yes, please!
A shortcake actually has nothing to do with its height. Instead, the term comes from the old English cooking term “short” which meant adding fat to create a crispy treat. In this case, the fat is butter. The base of these Blueberry Shortcakes is a crispy, crumbly buttermilk biscuit. These biscuits are tasty enough to eat by themselves! (In fact, there was a misshapen biscuit that disappeared after it came out of the oven. Oops.)
Blueberry Shortcakes
While these biscuits are mighty tasty by themselves, the shining star here is the addition of an easy blueberry sauce. This sauce only takes a couple minutes to make, and it’s great for all sorts of things. We spooned some leftover sauce over French vanilla ice cream – holy cow! And then Laura stirred some into plain Greek yogurt for a healthy (and easy) lunch.
This sauce relies on fresh blueberries that get cooked for a short amount of time in a saucepan. The blueberries release juice which is thickened thanks to a bit of cornstarch. Easy, delicious blueberry sauce!
How to reheat Blueberry Shortcakes
This recipe will make ~12 biscuits. If you’re serving a large group (or a very hungry group), then leftovers won’t be a problem. However, if you do have leftovers, they are very easy to reheat. I recommend filling the shortcakes with sauce and whipped cream as you serve them. Once the sauce and whipped cream get added, it will be much harder to store and reheat any leftovers.
For leftovers, just store the biscuits at room temperature in an airtight container. (Any extra whipped cream and blueberry sauce should be stored in the refrigerator.) Then reheat the biscuits in a toaster oven for a couple of minutes until the tops are lightly crispy. Split and fill with whipped cream and blueberry sauce, and you’re all set!
Take advantage of fresh blueberry season by making a batch of these Blueberry Shortcakes! Oh, and this recipe can easily be made with frozen blueberries. In fact, we usually save the fresh blueberries for eating plain and then make this recipe with frozen berries. Either way, I hope you get a chance to make these shortcakes. They’re delicious! Happy Baking!
Did you make a batch of these Blueberry Shortcakes at home? Leave a comment or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Blueberry Shortcakes
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Sauce
- 3 Tbsp water
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 2½ cups blueberries fresh or frozen and thawed
For the Shortcakes
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup blueberries fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1 large egg
- Fresh whipped cream for serving
Instructions
For the Blueberry Sauce
- Using a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Pour this mixture into a small saucepan along with sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; stir until well combined. (Note: If using fresh blueberries, increase amount of water to ⅓ cup.)
- Place medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring mixture to a boil, stirring often.
- Let boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add blueberries and stir until well combined. Continue cooking for 1 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove saucepan from heat and let cool completely.
For the Shortcakes
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper; set pan aside.
- Using a large bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda; stir until well combined.
- Cut butter into ½” cubes and add to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter (or two table knives) cut in butter until it’s the size of small peas.
- Add buttermilk and blueberries; stir until well combined. (Note: The dough should be somewhat shaggy at this point.)
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press dough into an 8”x8” square. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces; stack each piece on top of themselves. Roll into a square again. Repeat process 2 more times. (Note: The dough will turn stickier at this stage. Just go with it!)
- Roll dough into an 8”x8” square (~1” thick). Using a 2½” round cookie cutter dipped in flour, press down without twisting cutter. Place biscuits 2” apart on prepared baking sheet. Reroll scraps as needed until all dough has been used.
- Place pan in freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Whisk egg with 1 Tbsp of water; brush egg wash on top of biscuits.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown in color.
- Let biscuits cool for 5 minutes before splitting with a serrated knife.
- Spoon blueberry sauce over bottom half of biscuits and top with whipped cream. Place top back on biscuit before serving.
Looking for more tasty blueberry recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me for the shortcakes can i use vegan butter / coconut milk and cream i never had blueberry shortcakes before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
These shortcakes are fantastic, Ramya – I hope you make them! I haven’t tried them with vegan butter and coconut milk, but I would think they should still work with those substitutions. Let me know how they turn out!
These are wonderful. I love the colors! I now I’d prefer these over a strawberry version because I’m not fond of cooked strawberries for some reason!
I have to say that the blueberry version gives the strawberry version a run for its money, Mimi! These are fantastic – and that blueberry sauce on top? SO good! Give ’em a try!
Surprisingly, I’ve never made shortckakes – provable because I avoid turning the oven on in summer! But this blueberry test sounds quite delicious. I’ve recently discovered my new favorite ice cream flavour – strawberry shortckake. That actually would be another cool way to utilize some leftovers.
Ah – I do understand the desire to leave the oven off during the summer. However, you should probably turn it on at least once just to make sure it works, right? And since you’ll have it turned on, you might as well make some shortcakes! Also, I love the idea of this as an ice cream flavor. Not sure how to pull that off, though? Maybe chunks of the shortcake mixed in? But they would get kinda soggy I think?
the colour of these is so cute. and who doesn’t love blueberries? I don’t think shortcakes are much of a thing here in australia but they sound tasty.
Hmmm, maybe shortcakes are more of an American thing? I honestly have no idea. These do remind me of American-style biscuits. I say make a batch…you’ll start a whole new trend down there! 🙂
Oh, how I love a good shortcake, and this blueberry version sounds absolutely delightful! The combination of buttery, crumbly biscuits filled with whipped cream and blueberry sauce is simply heavenly. I appreciate that you’ve shared the background on the term “shortcake” and how it refers to the addition of fat to create that crispy texture.
It’s hard to beat a good biscuit, and these shortcakes are basically a biscuit. A buttery, crumbly delicious biscuit! Add in the blueberry sauce, and you’ve got something special. Thanks, Raymund!