Orange And Sour Cream Drop Shortcakes With Assorted Berries Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Set aside.
• To make the shortcakes, in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using 2 knives or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the sour cream and egg until moistened. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a rough circle (the dough will be sticky). Working with about one-sixth of the dough at a time, shape into rough balls and place about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the berries: if using strawberries, slice them. In a bowl, combine the fruit with sugar to taste. Stir, then let stand until ready to use.
• Remove the shortcakes from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet on a rack. In a bowl, whip the cream with the vanilla until it holds soft peaks. To serve, split each pancake in half horizontally with your fingers and place a bottom half on each of 6 individual plates. Top generously with the sugared berries and whipped cream. Replace the top half and serve.

Steps:

• In a bowl with a potato masher mash 2 cups blackberries with 1/3 cup granulated sugar and stir in remaining blackberries. In 2 more bowls mash separately raspberries and blueberries with remaining granulated sugar in same manner. Let berries stand at room temperature 4 hours. Berry mixtures may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring berries to room temperature before serving.
• Make shortcakes:
• Preheat oven to 425°F. and lightly butter 2 baking sheets. In a large bowl whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl whisk together zest, sour cream, and milk and add to flour mixture. Stir mixture until it just forms a soft and sticky dough and drop into 12 mounds at 1-inch intervals onto prepared baking sheets. Pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer shortcakes to a rack and cool. Shortcakes may be made 4 hours ahead and kept in airtight containers.
• In a large bowl beat cream with confectioners' sugar until it holds soft peaks. Whipped cream may be made 1 hour ahead and chilled in a cheesecloth-lined large sieve set over a bowl, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Whisk cream lightly before serving.
• Split shortcakes horizontally with a fork and serve with berries and whipped cream.

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and butter an 8- by 2-inch square metal baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment or wax paper, then butter paper. Dust with flour, knocking out excess.
• Whisk together yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl until combined well. Whisk in flour and salt (batter will be thick).
• Beat whites with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks.
• Stir about one third of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites in 2 more batches, gently but thoroughly.
• Transfer batter to baking pan, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until pale golden and a tester comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on a rack (cake will shrink from sides of pan). When cool, run a sharp knife around side of cake if necessary and invert onto rack, then remove paper.
• Make strawberries in syrup:
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean with tip of sharp knife into a small saucepan, then add pod. Add sugar, water, zest, and juice. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and boil 1 minute.
• Transfer to a bowl and chill 30 minutes. Pour syrup through a fine sieve into another bowl and discard solids. Gently stir in strawberries and let stand 15 minutes.
• Make cream:
• Beat together cream, sugar, and sour cream until mixture just holds stiff peaks.
• Assemble shortcakes:
• Cut 4 rounds from cake with cookie cutter.
• Generously brush both sides of each round with syrup from strawberry mixture and arrange, darker sides up, on plates. Spoon strawberries onto rounds and let stand 5 minutes to allow more syrup to soak into cake. Top rounds with dollops of cream and drizzle with remaining syrup.

Steps:

• Have ready an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, measure, resift 3 times with baking powder, salt and 3/4 cup sugar. Put the egg yolks into a mixer fitted with a whisk, add 1/4 cup cold water and the lemon juice, then beat on medium speed until thick and spongy, 4 to 5 minutes. Without stopping the beaters, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and the vanilla and beat until mixture is again thick and spongy. Now turn the mixer to the lowest speed and add flour in 4 portions, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl constantly with a spatula. Beat until batter is smooth. Fold in the lemon zest.
• Remove and clean the whisk. In another mixer bowl (or in a bowl with a hand whisk), quickly beat the egg whites until stiff enough to form peaks, then beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until the whites form shiny pointed peaks that curve at the tips. Fold the yolk mixture into the whites, lightly but thoroughly. Flow batter into the tube pan.
• Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and invert over a large funnel or bottle. When just cooled, remove the cake from the pan using a thin-bladed knife. Slice the cake into 4 layers. Wrap and freeze 2 layers for up to 2 months. Ice the other two and eat now.
• Place one layer on a cake plate. In a small pan, warm the marmalade and eau de vie until loose, then brush this on the bottom layer. Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar until it holds soft peaks; sweeten with more sugar if you like. Spread about 1 cup of the cream over the marmalade (now cooled). Place the second layer of cake on top, then ice the cake with the remaining whipped cream and decorate the top with slivers of candied peel. Chill and serve within 2 hours.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Blend in the butter until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
• Use hands for this.
• In a small bowl whsk together the zest, sour cream and milk.
• Add to the flour mixture.
• Stir mixture until it jsut forms a soft and sticky dough.
• Drop dough into 14 mounds at 1 inch intervals onto prepared baking sheets.
• Pat dough to 1/2 inch thinkness and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until pale golden.
• Transfer to a rack and cool.