Blackberry Violet Shortcakes

Blackberry Violet Shortcakes

The delicate flavour of violets is mostly in their lovely fragrance. Gorgeous candied violets, available at fine grocers, introduce this fragrance to these shortcake biscuits topped with a simple white chocolate mousse and blackberries flavoured with Crème Yvette, a knock-out violet liqueur arguably better than the real thing.


BLACKBERRIES
3 cups blackberries
⅓ cup Crème Yvette liqueur
3 tbsp sugar

SHORTCAKE
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake and pastry flour
4 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter,
cut into chunks
1 tbsp finely chopped
candied violets
1 cup plus 1 tbsp cold whipping cream, divided
⅓ cup cold water
Sanding or coarse sugar

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
¼ cup plus 1 cup cold whipping cream, divided
3 oz. white chocolate, chopped

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Directions:
Place blackberries in a heatproof bowl. Combine Crème Yvette and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour hot syrup over blackberries and stir to coat. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to a day.

Preheat oven to 425°F

In a food processor, combine all-purpose flour, cake and pastry flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add butter and pulse to cut into pea-size pieces; turn out into a large bowl and stir in candied violets.

In a large measuring cup, combine 1 cup cream and the water; pour over flour mixture. Stir until dough just comes together and turn out onto work surface. Knead 2 to 3 times, and flatten into a disc 1 inch high. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut into 8 biscuits, regathering dough if necessary. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush tops with remaining 1 tbsp cream and sprinkle each with a small amount of sanding sugar.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden and puffed. Remove to a rack to cool.

To make white chocolate mousse, bring ¼ cup cream to a boil; stir in white chocolate until melted. Cool to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, whip remaining 1 cup cream to medium peaks. Continue beating and slowly add chocolate mixture; whip to stiff peaks.

To serve, split biscuits in half and arrange bottoms individually on plates. Dress with an equal amount of mousse, berries and syrup; top with biscuit halves.
Serves 8

Blackberry and Nectarine Cobbler

Blackberry and Nectarine Cobbler

Yesterday while taking a walk I found a patch of ripe wild blackberries. I could just taste this cobbler. This recipe is a favorite.

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh blackberries

2 1/4 pounds nectarines (about 7 medium nectarines)

1 1/4 cup sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2" chunks

3/4 cup whole milk

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shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Whisk together 1 1/4 cups sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl, then add blackberries and nectarines and toss to combine well. Transferred to a buttered baking dish and bake in middle of oven 10 to 15 minutes until hot.

While fruit bakes, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, then blend in butter with your finger tips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and stir just until a dough forms. Drop dough on top of hot fruit in six mounds. Sprinkle tops of dough with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Bake another 25 to35 minutes.

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TIP Any combination of fruit suitable for a pie will work with this recipe.