At last, spring is here! One of things I am most excited about is the local farmer’s market starting back up in a couple of weeks. This year I signed up for a CSA and look forward to having an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. There is little I enjoy more than the sweet juicy berries from local farms.
During the spring and summer months, berries are the star of so many foods that I prepare. One of my favorite simple and delicious desserts is Mixed Berry Shortcakes. The old fashioned kind of shortcakes made with lightly sweetened baking powder biscuits and fresh whipped cream. Mmmm…
Don’t you just want to bite into that?
This is a partnered post with SPLENDA®. I was challenged to create a sweet swap recipe using SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener. I hope you enjoy these mixed berry shortcakes as much as I do!
I generally eat a lot lighter this time of the year, making big colorful salads and often grilling vegetables instead of burgers. It only makes sense to cut back on the sugar as well.
Maybe it’s a southern thing, but I will never get tired of making these old fashioned baking powder biscuits. Perhaps, it’s because they remind me of my grandmother. Regardless, they are amazing! I’ll include the recipe below. They are so simple to make.
Old Fashioned Baking Powder Shortcakes
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
2 tablespoons Granulated SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon soft butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
1) In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, SPLENDA®, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you don’t have a pastry blender just use two knives, criss-crossed, to slowly cut the butter up with the flour mixture in a scissors-like motion.
2) Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk. Using a fork, stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky.
3) On a floured surface, lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or until almost smooth. Lightly roll the dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.
4) Place the biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with softened butter. Sprinkle with SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated and Cinnamon. Bake in a 475° oven for 11 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Mixed Berry Shortcakes
Ingredients:
Shortcakes (recipe above)
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 cup blackberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
6 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1) Strawberry Filling- In a medium sized bowl, toss the berries with 6 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use. This will help the berries release their natural juices.
2) Prepare biscuits according to above recipe.
3) When ready to serve, prepare the whipped cream. In a large chilled bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups cold whipping cream with 2 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated and vanilla until soft peaks form.
4) To serve- Slice cooled biscuits in half horizontally. Spoon the berries and their liquid over the bottom halves. Spoon the whipped cream on top of the strawberries, and replace top halves of shortcakes. Optionally, garnish each shortcake with a berry and mint leaf. Enjoy!
Note: SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated measures cup for cup like sugar – so whatever amount of sugar your recipe requires just substitute the same amount of SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener.
Fun Fact: By swapping one cup of sugar with one cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated, you can save more than 600 calories!
Want to see more sweet swaps? Join me with @TheMotherhood for the #SweetSwaps Twitter party on Tuesday, March 31 at 1 p.m. ET! There will be prizes! RSVP: http://vite.io/themotherhood.
Visit SweetSwaps.com for more delicious recipes with fewer calories!
This post is part of the SPLENDA® Brand Sweet Life blogger program by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. and The Motherhood, who sent me products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.
Mixed Berry Shortcakes
Ingredients
- 1 pint strawberries sliced
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 6 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener Granulated
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener Granulated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients to make shortcakes:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 2 tablespoons Granulated SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon soft butter
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
To Create Shortcakes:
- 1) In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, SPLENDA®, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you don't have a pastry blender just use two knives, criss-crossed, to slowly cut the butter up with the flour mixture in a scissors-like motion.
- 2) Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk. Using a fork, stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky.
- 3) On a floured surface, lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or until almost smooth. Lightly roll the dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.
- 4) Place the biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with softened butter. Sprinkle with SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated and Cinnamon. Bake in a 475° oven for 11 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- 1) Strawberry Filling- In a medium sized bowl, toss the berries with 6 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use. This will help the berries release their natural juices.
- 2) Prepare biscuits according to above recipe.
- 3) When ready to serve, prepare the whipped cream. In a large chilled bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups cold whipping cream with 2 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated and vanilla until soft peaks form.
- 4) To serve- Slice cooled biscuits in half horizontally. Spoon the berries and their liquid over the bottom halves. Spoon the whipped cream on top of the strawberries, and replace top halves of shortcakes. Optionally, garnish each shortcake with a berry and mint leaf. Enjoy!
That sounds like an AWESOME summer dessert. I love that you kept the calories down with Splenda 🙂
Now this is a great way to enjoy shortcake. That looks so delicious!
It does look amazing doesn’t it? Perfect dessert for this warm weather.
That looks like a light, delicious summer treat. I will have to make this!
These look so fresh & tasty! Can’t wait to try these, maybe for Easter brunch?
They would be perfect for an Easter Brunch. Good idea.
Oh man, this looks almost too pretty to eat! I am such a sucker for a shortcake like this!
Oh wow that looks amazing. This would be perfect in the summer for a backyard BBQ! Yummy
Yum, that looks amazing. There’s not many desserts that can beat a berry shortcake in the summer.
You take beautiful pictures of food. I’m glad you’ve found a dessert you can enjoy. I can’t eat Splenda, maybe I could use Stevia?
Shortcakes are so yummy! I’ve never thought to mix berries before!
This looks so yummy, I would love a mini shortcake!
You do a great job with your pictures. They are really beautiful
The mixed berry shortcakes look delicious! I must admit I am a little jealous right now! 🙂
These Mixed Berry Shortcakes would be perfect to add to the Easter dessert table! I’ve been trying to prepare more foods with fresh fruits and veggies, and now I’m drooling over these photos!
I love everything about this! I love the look of it. I love the berries. I love that it’s not full of sugar! Awesome!
These Mixed Berry Shortcakes look delicious. I’m definitely going to try this recipe.
These look so good i can not wait to try making them. I will have to make some this weekend.
This looks so delicious that I am getting hungry. Thank you for the recipe
This looks so delicious. I love berries on anything – but shortcake is my favorite.
Yum! I need some of this right now. What a perfect treat for spring.
These short cakes look really good. I love that they contain real fruit and that they are so easy to make.
These look good and a great way to get your fruit in. Sounds pretty healthy too.
These look fantastic! I love anything with mixed berries as it’s always a mix that tastes amazing.
Whoa, these look DELISH!
Yum! They look so good! I’ll make these for Easter I think, perfect
Those look delicious and the berries look perfect!
Just yummy looking. I use Splenda for everything/
I can’t even tell you how gorgeous I think those look. And the berries make it healthy, right? RIGHT?!?!
I love all the fresh berries available right now! This would make a light and delicious dessert.
This looks SO good! I am not very hungry! Great pics!
Oh my goodness this mixed berry shortcakes looks delish! I can’t believe how easy it looks to make the shortcakes. Thanks for the recipe. We love fresh berries.
Those look great on their own. Add the berries and they look just amazing!
Yummmm! I love making homemade shortcake / biscuits and having a ton of berries and whipped cream with it. It’s my favorite summer treat.
Wow. These look amazing. I couldn’t make them, but I certainly want to hang out and eat them! YUM!
This looks so good. I bet it is super yummy
That looks so yummy. I haven’t cooked with Splenda before.
I haven’t made short cakes before. But they look delicious.
I LOVE your photos, so beautiful. The recipe looks very delicious. Will have to try for my berry loving kids.
Laura and Angela! This looks like it’s from a magazine or something. So incredibly perfect and delicious-looking. Tada!!! Wow. Since it looks so beautiful, I’d like to invite you to link it up at our SHARE IT party: http://www.finecraftguild.com/share-it-sunday-linky-party/ That would be terrific! ~ Rose
these look amazing. I wish we had a lighter dinner so dessert was an option tongiht
These look so beautiful and sound so so delicious! What a great springtime dessert!!!
Gorgeous! I’m drooling! 🙂
This is right up my alley! So incredibly delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
I love frsh berries. This would be a great Spring treat!
This llooks so good. I like how simple yet tasty these would be. They also look like a special dessert.
Great idea. I love strawberry shortcake in all forms.
This looks like such a great summer time dessert. I always crave fruit.
Oh wow! These look amazing! I will have to make these when my grandchildren come this summer. Thank you for the recipe.
What a yummy dessert to make. This is perfect for this time of year.
This is a perfect summer dessert. I love fresh berries and cream!
This looks absolutely delicious. Strawberry shortcake has always been one of my favorite desserts and I love this take on it!
I love any kind of cake! This looks amazing 🙂
I like using fruits that are in season. Good prices and good for you.
I love recipes using fresh fruits!