Old Fashioned Shortcake With Fruits and Whip Cream

Ingredients

• Serves 8

The Fruit

• 1 quart combinaton of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries
• *or you can make with just strawberries
• 3 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Kirschwasser or framboise liqueur *Optional, but adds such flavor
• The shortcake
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 egg yolks
• The Cream
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• Softened butter (optional)

Directions

1. To prepare the berries
2. Wash, hull and either cut them in half or slice them.
3. Toss with the sugar and optional kirschwasser. Do not let them stand more than a few hours.
4. The shortcakes
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
6. Into a mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
7. Add the butter and rub the dry ingredients with the butter between the fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse meal.
8. In a small bowl, with a fork, beat the milk and egg yolks together. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and, still with a fork, mix gingerly until the dough binds together.
9. Onto a lightly greased or nonstick baking sheet, drop the dough off a large spoon, dividing the dough into 8 neat but irregular mounds. Space the shortcakes at least 2 inches apart.
10. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are tinged with brown.
11. The Cream
12. While the shortcakes are in the oven, in a large bowl, whip the cream. When it is starting to mount, add a tablespoon or 2 of sugar and the optional vanilla extract. Whip just until the cream is thick but still loose enough to roll off a spoon.

To Assemble

1. When the biscuits are done, let them cool a minute, then split them in half with a fork, as you would an English muffin. Butter the shortcakes lightly, if desired, placing the bottom of each biscuit on a serving plate.
2. Cover with the berries and some of their juice, and a spoonful of the whipping cream, then the top halves of the biscuits.Spoon the whipped cream over each shortcake and top with a few more berries.