Brown-Sugar Berry Shortcakes

The combination of sweet-tart berries, airy whipped cream, and tender biscuits in berry shortcake is one of the highlights of summer. Sadly, however, this dessert rarely measures up to its promise. The shortcakes typically turn to mush the second the berries are added, rendering the dessert unpleasantly gummy and starchy. We wanted to make craggy, sweet shortcakes with a crumb sturdy enough to support juicy berries and cream. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Enrich the biscuits with sour cream. Its tangy flavor and richness ensures a tender crumb and perfectly complements the berries.
• Treat the batter gently to keep the shortcakes tender. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients as you would for conventional biscuits, then add the wet ingredients and knead lightly until just combined. Scoop the batter onto the baking sheet with an ice cream scoop.
• Brush the tops of the unbaked biscuits with melted butter and dust with sugar for a crisp, well-browned exterior.
• Use brown sugar to flavor the shortcakes, topping, and fruit. The earthy undertones of the sugar have a natural affinity with berries.