Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The devil went down to Georgia



I really wish Mother Nature would make up her mind what season it is here in central Texas.  Saturday morning when I got up, it was in the mid-20s.  Today it was about 75ºF.  Tomorrow night it'll be below freezing again.  I'm so ready to be done with the temps in the 70s for a while.  The calendar almost says December, and I want it to feel at least a little like Christmas is approaching.  So I'm doing what I can to get into the right frame of mind.  I have some pretty snowflake earrings, and a string of Christmas lights necklace.  (Both get lots of comments from my customers at work.)  And I started pulling out the wrapping paper to use as backgrounds for my blog photos. =)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is a little seasonally confused, too.  Tania of Love Big, Bake Often (who currently lives in Savannah) picked Devilish Shortcakes for us to make.  I typically consider shortcakes to be a summer dessert, and wouldn't think to make them at the end of November.  But these aren't typical shortcakes--they're chocolate!  And since I love chocolate with berries (especially raspberries), this recipe sounded like a winner regardless of what the calendar says.


Shortcakes are basically biscuits, and not all that hard to make.  You mix together dry ingredients (including cocoa powder for these chocolate ones), rub in butter, add wet ingredients & gently mix.  I added about 1/3 cup (70g) of mini chocolate chips before I added the wet ingredients.  I only made half the recipe, and formed my shortcakes using my #16 (1/4 cup) disher.  I got eight, and baked them for about 15 minutes.

For serving, I went with some organic raspberries that I picked up at Central Market.  I thought I was going to have to go with frozen berries, but these looked really good (and while they were a bit more expensive than frozen, they weren't totally outrageous).  I mixed the berries with some raspberry fruit butter that I thinned with a little water and a couple splashes of framboise.  And to boost the chocolate flavor, I made a quick sauce by melting together some chocolate and cream, and adding some vanilla and dark rum.  Naturally, there also had to be some whipped cream.



The verdict?  To be honest, after reading the comments on the P&Q from Nancy and Caitlin, I was a bit worried.  By themselves, the shortcakes seemed somewhat dry and not very sweet, even with the added chocolate chips.  But put together with the saucy raspberries and with an extra hit of chocolate, this was a very tasty dessert.

If you'd like to give these shortcakes a try for yourself, you can find the recipe on Tania's blog.  And to see what everyone else thought of this week's pick, check out the Links.


9 comments:

  1. I am in Canada, and we are having the same issues...one day it is bitter cold, the next agreeable, then the next almost spring-like, and then back to bitter cold! Make up your mind! :-) I am ready for Christmas, whether Mother Nature is or not!

    This looks really delicious, chocolate shortcake, yummy!! I have not made anything like this, but i think i might try it looks so good!

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  2. Seriously... I have no idea what I'll be wearing tomorrow. This weather is ridiculous. :P Your shortcakes look amazing! I used raspberries, too, but I love how far you took yours! Beautiful, Di!

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  3. You can have our consistent cold, if you'd like it!! =) Those desserts look fantastic . . . Chocolate-raspberry is my favorite combination (never get to have it because hubby doesn't like raspberries).

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  4. Looks good, Di! That's something I've never seen before, but looks delicious. I may have to try these!

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  5. In Toronto, we're into our second day of driving rain. I'm glad for the slightly warm weather, or else we'd be snowed under.
    Your shortcake looks perfect. How did you get for whipped cream to stay put?

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  6. You make these look so great. I have been reading a lot of comments, but yours look like they were perfectly delicious for all you chocolate lovers. All that weather down there makes it difficult to know what to pack away for the winter and what to keep out and ready!

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  7. Our weather has been slightly more consistent - sort of moderate by New England standards for this time of year. I'm definitely not complaining, it could certainly be colder but unless it's snowing I'd rather it wasn't :)

    Your shortcakes look wonderful! I love the wrapping paper you used for the background - so festive.

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  8. Chocolate and berries. Perfect.

    Mine were a little dry too, but the ice cream solved that problem.

    Good idea on the wrapping paper. I bought some paper plates for the same reason...

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  9. oh My God this is heaven. what a combination!
    Now this is wonderful, never has anything like it myself but the flavors jump off the page.

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