Peaches and Cream Shortcakes

By jjadin

Ingredients

• For the shortcake biscuits:
• 9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling and cutting the biscuits
• 2 Tbs. light brown sugar
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
• 3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes
• 1 cup plus 1 tsp. heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbs. demerara sugar
• For the marinated peaches:
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tbs. amaretto
• 4 large ripe peaches (about 1-1/2 lb.)
• For the honey whipped cream:
• 1-1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 5 Tbs. honey

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Make the biscuits:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a nonstick liner.

Put the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse briefly to blend.

Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse until the butter is cut into pieces the size of large breadcrumbs, 6 to 8 pulses.

With the food processor running, immediately pour 1 cup of the cream through the feed tube and process just until the ingredients are moistened.

Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times just until smooth. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle or rectangle. Dip a 2-3/4-inch round plain-edge biscuit cutter in flour and then cut straight down through the dough to form the biscuits. (Dip the cutter in flour before cutting each biscuit and don't twist the cutter, because it will seal the edges and keep the shortcakes from rising as they bake.)

Transfer the shortcakes to the lined baking sheet, leaving at least an inch between them. Gather the scraps together, knead briefly to smooth the dough, and shape into a 3/4-inch-thick circle or rectangle. Cut out more shortcakes. Repeat as often as necessary to use most of the dough (there will be a little left over).

With a pastry brush, lightly coat the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 1 tsp. cream and then lightly sprinkle them with demerara sugar.

Bake until the bottoms are slightly golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the biscuits cool completely on a rack before serving. While the biscuits cool, marinate the peaches and make the honey whipped cream.
Assemble the shortcakes:

Using a serrated knife, slice each biscuit in half horizontally. Set the bottom half on an individual serving plate and spoon about one-eighth of the marinated peaches, a scant 1/4 cup, over the biscuit. Cover the peaches with a generous spoonful of the honey whipped cream. Put the top of the biscuit on the cream. Drop a small dollop of whipped cream on the biscuit top, if you wish. Repeat with the remaining biscuits. If you have any peach slices left, arrange them around the plates. Serve immediately.


Peaches:

Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small heavy-based saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and let the sugar syrup cool. Stir in the amaretto.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a small X in the pointed end of each peach. Plunge the peaches into the boiling water for 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, remove the peaches from the water and put them into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When the peaches are cool enough to handle, use a small sharp knife to gently peel the skin off the peaches, starting at the X. If the skins don’t peel off easily, return the peaches to the boiling water for another 30 to 60 seconds.

Halve the peaches lengthwise and remove the pits. Slice each half lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices and put them in a medium bowl. Pour the amaretto sugar syrup over the peaches and stir gently to coat completely. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the peaches marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before using.