THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

PEACH SHORTCAKE.

Two cups flour, four level teaspoons baking powder, half teaspoon salt, two teaspoons sugar, one-third cup butter, three-quarters cup milk.

METHOD. – Mix and sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, work in butter with tips of fingers, and add milk gradually.  Toss on floured board, divide in two parts, bake in hot oven on large cake tins.  Split and spread with butter.  Sweeten sliced peaches to taste.  Crush slightly and put between and on top of cakes.  Cover with whipped cream.

~Culinary Landmarks or Half-Hours with Sault Ste. Marie Housewives (3rd Edition).  Sault Ste. Marie:  St. Luke’s Woman’s Auxiliary, 1909.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• 2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar
• ⅓ c. butter, chilled
• ¾ c. milk
• softened butter to spread on slices
• 5 to 6 peaches (depending on size)
• ¼ to ⅓ c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• ⅔ c. whipping cream
• 3 Tb. granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla.

Time the preparation so that the peaches and whipped cream are ready to quickly assemble with the shortcakes when they come out of the oven.

Preheat oven to 400F, and grease two 8-inch diameter cake pans.

Sift the flour and measure it;  then add the baking powder, salt and sugar to the flour, and sift all together into a mixing bowl.

Add the chilled butter to the flour mixture, and with the fingers, work it into the dry ingredients, until the mixture has a fine, even texture.

Gradually add the milk, stirring continually with a fork until the mixture is completely moistened.

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface, and divide and shape it into two equal rounds;  gently pat each round, so that they will fit into two eight-inch diameter cake pans.

Bake immediately in a preheated oven at 400F for approximately 15 to 18 minutes, until faintly browned.

Remove from the oven, and while still hot, split each shortcake in half horizontally, into two rounds, and butter the cut surfaces lightly.

Peel and thinly slice the peaches, and add the brown sugar, as well as the lemon juice; crush gently and stir carefully, to blend in the sugar. (You may wish to prepare the peaches prior to making the shortcake, in which case the lemon juice will prevent the fruit from darkening.)

While the shortcake is baking, whip the cream with a rotary beater, gradually adding the sugar and vanilla as you whip, until it forms firm peaks.

To assemble the shortcake, place one round of biscuit on a serving plate, and place about a quarter of the sweetened peach slices on the biscuit;  top with a second half, add more peaches;  repeat with the second biscuit, (making four layers), and end with the final quarter portion of fruit on the top.

Spoon the sweetened whipped cream generously over the top of the fruit, and serve the shortcake immediately, while the biscuit is still warm, and the whipped cream fluffy.

Cut the Peach Shortcake in wedges to serve.

Yield: 6 servings.

This Peach Shortcake is very attractive, rich and delicious.  It is a marvelous way to serve fresh peaches when they are in season.

A note from Patricia: Sure, we all love strawberry shortcake, so I was eager to try out this Peach Shortcake recipe. And with fresh Ontario peaches starting to hit the shops, it was now or never. And boy was I impressed! I might even dare to say that I liked this better than the strawberry version. It was interesting that this gets assembled so that the finished product is more like a cake to be sliced (instead of individual shortcakes), but it’s quite impressive looking with all of the layers and the mound of peaches and whipped cream piled on top. I made the shortcake gluten-free using 1:1 baking flour and it worked out just fine. And yes, I’ll definitely be making this again in the coming weeks. 🙂

Strawberry shortcake is esteemed a great delicacy in its season.  It is eaten at tea, cut into triangles like pie, and sweet cream poured over each slice, with more sugar sifted over it, if desired.

~Harland, Marion.  Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery.  Toronto: G.M. Rose & Sons, 1884.

…shortcake is very nice made with the common “black-caps” or wild raspberries.

~Harland, Marion.  Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery.  Toronto: G.M. Rose & Sons, 1884.

Cream will not whip unless it is very cold and at least twenty-four hours old.

~Blue Ribbon Cook Book (19th Edition).  Winnipeg: Blue Ribbon Manufacturing Company, 1905.