Lemon Berry Shortcake

Lemon berry shortcake features a rich, flaky shortcake base topped with a juicy lemon berry and a sweetened, lemony whipped cream filling.

Lemon Berry Shortcake

Lemon berry shortcake features a rich, flaky shortcake base topped with a juicy lemon berry and a sweetened, lemony whipped cream filling. Shortcake is essentially a sweetened biscuit usually filled with fresh fruit and whipped cream. It is a popular summer dessert, since summer fruits are traditionally used in the shortcake filling. While there are savory recipes out there for shortcake, sweet versions are the most popular with strawberry shortcake being the most traditional in the United States.

How to Make Lemon Berry Shortcake

This version of shortcake features a hint of lemon in the shortcake itself, lemon zest and juice in the berry filling and lemon zest in the sweetened whipped cream. If you don’t want to use berries, any summer fruit will work for this recipe.

Ingredients

For the shortcake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more for decoration 
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• ½ cup shortening
• ⅔ cup milk

For the lemon berry filling:

• 2 pints fresh berries, larger pieces sliced (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons lemon zest, divided
• Juice of ½ lemon 
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
• 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

Shortcake:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; sift. Add in the lemon zest. Cut in the shortening until crumbly. Using a fork, blend in the milk until mixture is just moistened. Using floured hands, gently knead the mixture together in the mixing bowl to form a large ball; turn out to a floured surface. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cut evenly into 4-6 pieces. Sprinkle each piece with granulated sugar if desired. Place each piece on a lined baking sheet and bake @ 400°F for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Allow the shortcakes to cool on wire rack complete before filling.

Lemon berry filling:

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the berries, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, sugar and lemon juice. Stir together, cover and allow to sit until juices have formed in the bottom of the bowl.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and powdered sugar. Using a mixer, whip on high until soft peaks form. 

To assemble:

Split each shortcake in half, fill each bottom half with whipped cream and berries; replace the top of each shortcake on top of the whipped cream and berries. Store leftover whipped cream and berries in refrigerator; store leftover shortcake in an airtight container. 

Tips for Lemon Berry Shortcake

• Substitute any summer fruit for the berries, such as peaches, plums or nectarines 
• Fresh fruit works best for this recipe 

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