Delicious Gluten-Free Shortcakes Ready for the Fruit of Your Choice
In summer I like to make shortcakes often as the crumbly biscuits showcase so many different fruit so well. But for those of us eating gluten-free, we need a basic recipe of our own and I stumbled upon this version by accident. I was visiting my friend Robb who has the most amazing cache of flour in his spare freezer: barley flour, coconut flour, whole wheat, rice flour, chestnut flour and others. He asked me to create a dessert for a dinner party, spur of the moment. There was a fabulous pick-your-own strawberry farm nearby so shortcakes seemed like the logical choice. I decided to combine the brown rice flour and the chestnut flour to see what would happen. The resulting shortcakes, as you can see, are richly colored. The chestnut flour lends sweetness, while the crumbly effect from the rice flour works well in this application. The party go-ers were swooning. Feel free to use these with your favorite fruit fillings, such as the strawberries and cream pictured.
- 1 ¼ cups brown rice flour
- ¼ cup chestnut flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar (I used organic evaporated cane sugar)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup buttermilk, chilled
- 1 large egg
- Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rice flour, chestnut flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.
- Cut in the butter with two knives or a pastry blender until the butter is the size of flat raisins.
- Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in a small bowl to blend. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and gently bring together by stirring with a wooden spoon just until combined. Pat out the dough to a 6 x-inch by 4-inch rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 equal pieces; use your hands to shape each piece into a round biscuit. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared pan, equally spaced apart.
- Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until tops and bottoms are just tinged with color. Cool on the pan set on a rack until lukewarm, about 10 minutes. The shortcakes may be used warm at this point. Alternatively, store at room temperature for up to 8 hours, loosely wrapped in foil. Re-warm for 10 minutes at 350°F before serving, if desired.
Bakepedia Tips
- Shortcakes are about 3 components: the biscuits, the fruit and the cream. Make sure your fruit is perfectly ripe and also make sure to keep the cream soft and silky as seen in the picture – don’t over-whip! If you can find cream that is not ultra-pasterurized it will have better flavor.
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