• 2 cups flour + extra for work surface
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tbsp salt
• 6 tbsp chilled butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup heavy cream + extra for brushing

For the Berries

• 2 cups berries of choice - raspberries, blueberries,  sliced strawberries,
• 3 tbsp sugar

For Sweet Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup sugar

Garnish (optional)

• powdered sugar
• fresh mint sprigs

Special Equipment

• stand mixer with paddle attachment
• rolling pin
• 2" pastry/cookie cutter
• baking sheet
• parchment paper

Make Shortcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Place 2 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, ½ tbsp salt and 6 tbsp of cubed chilled butter in the bowl of a stand mixer
3. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until butter is shredded into smaller pieces (about the size of peas) and distributed evenly throughout the dry ingredients.  This should only take about 30-60 seconds
4. With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add the heavy cream to the dry mix in a steady stream until the dough begins to come together
5. Stop the mixer, remove the dough from the bowl and set it onto a lightly floured work surface.  You may need to gather a couple of loose pieces of dough and form it into a round ball.  Be careful not to handle the dough too much.  It does not need to be 100% smooth in appearance before using. The longer you handle the dough with your warm hands, the more you run of the risk of not having a flaky shortcake. Flatten it out slightly with your hands and roll it out evenly to about ¾” thickness.  (If not using right away, you can also store dough in the refrigerator)
6. Dip a round 2" in diameter pastry cutter into flour (to prevent sticking), cut the dough into circles and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.  After the 1st round of cuts,  re-shape the remaining dough and cut the rest of into circles for a total of 12-15 biscuits
7. Brush some heavy cream onto the top of the shortcakes and sprinkle some sugar on top of each one. For best results, chill in refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes
8. Remove from refrigerator to oven and bake 14-15 minutes, turning the baking pan once to insure even baking and until the cakes get a nice golden color along edges and bottom
9. They are ready to use within 10 minutes after they’ve had a chance to cool slightly.  If you make them a couple of hours ahead of time, you might want to re-heat them gently for only a couple of minutes before using – they taste better warm!

Prepare Berries & Cream

1. While biscuits are baking, trim fresh strawberries of their stems and cut them into halves or quarters. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and blackberries also make a great mixed berry blend
2. Toss berries lightly with sugar and let sit for 10 minutes to develop a light syrup
3. For the sweet cream, simply mix 2 cups of heavy cream with ½ cup of sugar

Assemble & Garnish

1. Arrange berries on the bottom of a bowl or plate. Pour sweet cream over the berries and top with shortcakes. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh mint