These past few days were busy ones for the oldest child in our family. On Friday Nicholas partook in his first ever holy communion and today, he celebrates the milestone of turning eight years old. It never ceases to amaze me how fast time can pass you by. One minute you’re holding this beautiful little bundle of joy in your arms and the next, he’s half way through elementary school and showing signs of independence you never knew he had.
I suppose that’s both the magic and the hardest piece of parenting all wrapped up into one. The joy of raising healthy, happy children and giving them everything you have whilst at the same time, slowly letting them go. I can’t imagine ever receiving a greater gift. So I want to give a huge Happy Birthday shout out to my oldest today and let him know we’re proud of him and we love him very, very much. Nick, these chocolate shortcakes are for you buddy.
If you enjoy dessert as much as we do in this family then I recommend grabbing a bowl and joining me for a quick and tasty recipe session.
Begin by combining a handful of dry ingredients into a large bowl including, a necessity for all special occasion treats, chocolate.
Mix them up well and then cut in a pat o’ plenty of butter. You can use a fancy shmancy tool like the one I have or simply use a fork. Either way will do the job.
Here’s my shortcake mixture post butter cutting.
Finish off the mixture with a pour of milk and a taste of both vanilla and almond extract. Dollop large spoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and slide into the oven to cook up all biscuit beautiful like.
Here they are all cooked up and ready to be filled with fruity creamy goodness.
Time to stuff them full and sit down to a well earned celebration. Happy Birthday my sweet boy!
Very Berry Chocolate Shortcake
Yield: About 11 Individual Sized Shortcakes
Ingredients:
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/5 Sticks Unsalted Butter (12 Tbsp or 3/4 Cup), chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
For the Whipped Cream:
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Directions:
In a large bowl, sift together the first seven dry ingredients.
Using a fork or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mixture, a handful of cubes at a time, until fully incorporated and crumbly in texture.
Add in the milk and the extracts and stir to combine.
Drop heaping spoonfuls of the biscuit mixture onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
To make the whipped cream simply whip the final three ingredients together until stiff peaks form.
Let cakes cool, slice in half and serve with fresh whipped cream and berries sandwiched inside.
Amount Per Serving
Calories 299.5, Total Fat 17.5 g, Saturated Fat 10.8 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8, Monounsaturated Fat 4.6 g, Cholesterol 49.1 mg, Sodium 205.6 mg, Potassium 169.9 mg, Total Carbohydrate 33.9 g, Dietary Fiber 3.6 g, Sugars 13.4 g, Protein 3.7 g
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I love homemade whipped cream and to pair with chocolate shortcake is just brilliant! Mmm….
Congrats, Nicholas!!
I’m not a lover of shortcake, but I can always get on board with chocolate and fruit 🙂
These look delicious–anything with berries and cream becomes my favorite very quickly. And happy b-day to Nicholas!
That is one good looking shortcake. if only we could keep them at that age. Enjoy them; it goes so fast.
Rita
Happy Birthday to Nicholas 🙂
The shortcakes look delicious! How perfect with fresh strawberries! Thanks for sharing, Juile!
A very Happy Birthday to Nick! You are so right Julie, they grow up so fast! I would love a bite of those shortcakes, they look divine 🙂
So many things to celebrate…congratulations Nicholas!
This chocolate shortcake indeed is perfect with berries and homemade whipped cream…YUM!
Hope you are having a fabulous week Julie 🙂
i’ve never oohed and aahed over strawberry shortcake, but chocolate shortcake is a different story! happy birthday to the kiddo!
I love desserts! Especially ones that have some good-for-you ingredients thrown in. The berries look so good and I love that they help to boost the fiber content. Yum!
I had never thought about making the biscuits in chocolate, how clever is that!! Love this idea for a quick summer dessert! anne
Congrats on your little one. 8! I can’t believe it.
You are one amazing mom to pull this delicious dessert together. I usually just hit up Baskin Robbins and call it a day. 🙂 This looks way better!
PS: I just saw the homemade jam post. Amazing. Truly. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations to Nicholas! What a special day for him.
I love shortcake but this is just pure deliciousness! the scones turned out amazing
Never thought of chocolate shortcake. Come on chocolate season.
LisaDay
What a great recipe. My kids and I picked 20 pounds of olallieberries and strawberries yesterday. After two pies and two batches of jam, these shortcakes will be a tasty way to finish off the berries. Yum