These Cornmeal Shortcakes with Blackberries and Lemon Curd feature some of our favorite things: tender cornmeal shortcakes, sweet summer blackberries, and the citrusy-tart goodness of lemon curd whipped cream.
Coarse Turbinado Sugar
or Sparkling Sugar, for topping
For the Blackberries
1 quart
Fresh Blackberries
1/2 cup
Sugar
For the Lemon Curd Whipped Cream
2 cups
Heavy Whipping Cream
or Crème fraîche if preferred
1/4 cup
Lemon Curd
we love Bonne Maman brand or you can use homemade
Lemon Zest
to taste, about 1 lemon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the center.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Add the butter cubes and incorporate using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the butter is broken into pea-size bits.
Using a fork, stir the buttermilk into the dry ingredients to gently incorporate just until the dough comes together in moist clumps. Squeeze a handful and see if it sticks together; if not, add another small splash of buttermilk and mix it in until the dough just sticks together but isn’t sticky. Transfer the dough to a well-floured counter-top and firmly shape and pat it into to disk that is 1 1⁄2 inches thick.
Cut the disk into six equal wedges. (Alternatively, the dough can be cut into rounds using a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Gather the dough scraps and cut again to get 6 biscuits total.) Place the shortcakes on a baking sheet at least 2 inches apart and brush them lightly with buttermilk. Sprinkle the tops generously with turbinado/decorative sugar. Bake until the tops are golden and the bottoms are crisp, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the blackberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Let stand for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and creates a syrup with the blackberry juices.
For the whipped cream: whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream to soft peaks. Add the ¼ cup of lemon curd, and whisk to combine.
Cut the shortcakes in half and spoon crème fraîche or whipped cream on the bottoms, followed by blackberries and syrup. Add lemon zest to taste. Place the shortcake caps on top and serve.