Shortcake Biscuit Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a biscuit and a shortcake? ›

Unlike cake batter, shortcake batter is significantly thicker and reminiscent of biscuit dough. But shortcakes don't share the same buttery flakiness of biscuits or the dry crumbliness of a scone. That's because shortcake recipes call for eggs and use more sugar. That's what makes them unique!

Shortbread is similar to shortcake but doesn't include baking powder. Lots of rich butter gives shortbread a high fat content, resulting in a fine, crumbly texture. Shortcake and shortbread biscuits are delicious on their own, with fruit and cream, or simply topped with a delicate dusting of sugar.

Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, milk or cream, and sometimes eggs. The dry ingredients are blended, and then the butter is cut in until the mixture resembles cornmeal. The liquid ingredients are then mixed in just until moistened, resulting in a shortened dough.

Muffins are a perfect shortcake substitute, and fruit muffins can enhance any fresh fruit you're layering into the dessert.

First, there's that name. It's not called shortcake because it isn't tall. “Short” is an English word, dating to at least the 16th Century, that means crisp. Or, more specifically, something made crisp with the addition of fat, traditionally either butter or lard.

A shortcake biscuit, which is a lightly sweetened biscuit, is classic with strawberries and cream. But if you want a quick and informal take on the classic then pound cake is the way to go. It has the perfect soft and velvety texture to melt in your mouth along with the tender strawberries and billowing whipped cream.

The earliest known shortcake recipe dates back to 1588 from an old English cookbook.

Traditional strawberry shortcake is lightly sweetened but not tooth-achingly sugary. Most of the sweetness comes from the juicy berries and the freshly whipped cream, with just a hint in the shortcakes.

A Callie's Hot Little Biscuit shortcake biscuit is a light and sweet. It is delightfully crumbly in texture (make it perfect to pair with a rich sauce, syrup, or icing) and has a crispy top due to our signature sprinkle of Turbinado sugar.

What can you eat with shortcake? ›

Nectarines, apricots, plums, and even mangos would be terrific paired with shortcakes and whipped cream. If sweet and tart is your cup of tea, think how terrific homemade shortcakes would taste when topped with a quick stovetop sauce made from strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, and a little lemon juice.

Shortcakes also use baking powder, where a traditional scone or biscuit does not. This helps them rise up and get flakey. So a shortcake is somewhere in between a scone and a cake. These perfect little bites are best served warm with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Basic biscuits are a mixture of fat, sugar and flour without eggs or other raising agents. As a result, biscuits contain a low volume of air that is often trapped in cracks or irregular air cells rather than the more spherical air cells in cake and sponge.

It was accepted under UK law that biscuits were a luxury item and the full VAT would be levied. But cakes, on the other hand, have been regarded as a staple food — so were zero-rated for the purposes of VAT.

Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda.

More firm, thinner and fluffier than a cookie, biscuits require a harder dough to create the correct texture. These deliciously crumbly treats are usually made with only a few ingredients, butter, flour and sugar. This makes them the perfect dippable treat, as they absorb the rich flavours in coffee and tea!