blueberry shortcakes with mascarpone cream

Spring has sprung and it’s time to celebrate the season with Blueberry Shortcakes with Mascarpone Cream. Fresh blueberries and sweet mascarpone whipped cream are sandwiched between buttery, from-scratch shortcake biscuits to make the ultimate simple-yet-special dessert that’s the perfect treat for warm-weather nights (and mornings, let’s be honest).

Raise your hand if you’re READY for spring and summer. As you can guess, my hand is very much raised. As a Minnesotan, not only do I talk about the weather a lot, but the minute even the tiniest blade of grass emerges from the snow, I crave the warm weather like you would not believe. I want to bust out the grill, put on my flip flops and eat these blueberry shortcakes on repeat on the patio with the sun shining on my face. Join me, will you?

Maybe you’re lucky enough to live in one of those magical places I hear about where the sun shines all the time and you’ve been swimming in your backyard pool since December — in which case, LUCKY YOU. But for we sorry souls in the Midwest, we are finally thawing out, packing away our parkas (because even if I need it again for some freak May snowstorm, which is sadly always possible, I refuse to wear it for the next six months) and making up for all the lost time of missing out on fresh, seasonal recipes (at least ones that didn’t involve potatoes and clementines, ya know?). ANYWAY. Clearly I’m excited for springtime.

So about these shortcakes — omg. They’re so good. So good, in fact, that when I shot the photos for the recipe, I was already stuffed from my two-year-old’s birthday cake and yet I still found myself eating forkful after forkful of these shortcakes straight from the set. Just living my best life, you guys.

How to Make Blueberry Shortcakes

The shortcakes are made from scratch with a buttery, lightly sweetened dough that’s so delicate, it crumbles with even the slightest pressure. To keep that delicate texture, be sure not to overwork the dough when shaping it — just a light pat into an irregular biscuit shape will do, then place it on the parchment paper. Chilling the biscuits in the fridge will also help them maintain their shape and, when you go to cut into them for serving, use a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to cut them in half. Trust me — it’s all worth it for the dreamy tenderness of these biscuits.

How to Macerate Berries

As for the blueberries: Some shortcake recipes will have you cook the blueberries down into a loose jam, if you will, and that’s cool! But for this recipe, I wanted to keep the berries as fresh as possible while also giving them a little oomph — and so, I macerated them. Macerated berries are essentially marinated berries in that, when you mix fresh berries with sugar (sometimes a splash of alcohol or lemon juice, too), the berries start to break down and release their juices. To me, this yields the perfect texture for berries in a shortcake recipe, and it’s so easy, too.

Bonus: You can do this with just about any type of berry, so feel free to swap some of the blueberries in this recipe for sliced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination.

How to Make Mascarpone Cream

Finally, a word about that mascarpone cream: Go for it, my friends. Invest in a good, high-quality mascarpone from the grocery store, whip it up with heavy cream and be amazed by the flavor. It’s actually a cheese, almost cream cheese-like but with a light sweetness. It’s often used in tiramisu, but it has a wide variety of uses (like these shortcakes, obviously, but you can also spread it on crackers!). I love the depth of flavor it adds to the whipped cream in this recipe, and I think you will, too.

Of course, if you can’t find mascarpone or just don’t have the wiggle room in your grocery budget, low-fat (aka neufchatel) cream cheese works just fine.

With these blueberry shortcakes in my regular dessert rotation this spring and summer, I’m basically set for life (and I think you would be, too). Just add flip flops and sunshine. CANNOT WAIT.

Blueberry Shortcakes with Mascarpone Cream

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• Author: Stephanie
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 9 shortcakes 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Buttery scratch-made shortcakes filled with fresh blueberries and a sweet mascarpone cream. The perfect spring or summer dessert!

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Ingredients

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For the shortcakes:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

For the blueberries:

• 2 pints fresh blueberries (about 1 1/2 lbs)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the mascarpone cream:

• 1/2 cup mascarpone
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

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Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, lemon zest, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined.
3. Use a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of small peas.
4. Stir 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla into the flour mixture just until a dough forms.
5. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces. Gently shape each piece of dough into a biscuit-shaped round about 3/4-inch thick. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1 inch apart.
6. Chill the biscuits on the baking sheet in the refrigerator 20 minutes.
7. Once chilled, transfer the biscuits on the baking sheet to the oven. Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Transfer the baked biscuits to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, stir the blueberries and 1/4 cup granulated sugar until well mixed. Let the mixture stand at room temperature 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use immediately, or store the berries, covered, in the refrigerator up to 8 hours/overnight. The berries will continue to break down as they sit.
9. Just before serving, make the mascarpone cream: In a large mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone and 1 cup heavy cream with an electric hand mixer on high speed just until stiff peaks form. Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla.
10. Use a serrated knife to gently cut the shortcakes in half. Top each bottom half with a generous spoonful or two of blueberries. Top with a generous dollop of mascarpone cream, and more berries if desired. Top with the top half of the shortcake. Serve immediately.

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Notes

Swap the blueberries for sliced fresh strawberries or raspberries, or a combination!

If you can’t find or don’t want to buy mascarpone, you can use an equal amount of neufchatel/low-fat cream cheese at room temperature (results may vary).

P.S. Want more blueberry goodness? Check out my favorite blueberry recipes.