Apple Shortcakes With Maple Whipped Cream

A stack of apple shortcakes on a wooden plate with a box of apples behind it.

Apple Shortcakes With Maple Whipped Cream

Let's welcome fall with a seasonal spin to a classic Americana dessert -- apple shortcakes! These delicate, flaky buttermilk shortcakes are topped with a cinnamon-spiced apple filling and then finished with a big dollop of homemade maple whipped cream for an extra decadent touch. Every delicious bite tastes like autumn, making for one festive dessert that's perfect for any occasion.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Chilling Time 30

Total Time 1 15

Servings people

Calories 670kcal

Author Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

Mixing bowl
Box grater
3-inch cookie cutter
12-inch cast-iron skillet (preferably) or baking pan
Pastry brush
Large skillet
Hand or stand mixer

Ingredients

Shortcakes

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour chilled and then spooned and leveled to measure
¼ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup salted butter frozen and then grated (see notes)
1 ¼ cups cold buttermilk, plus additional tablespoon for brushing shaken before measuring

Apple Filling

2 tablespoons butter
3 cups peeled and diced Honeycrisp apples cut into 1-inch cubes, about 3 apples
½ cup real maple syrup
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Maple Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Instructions

Shortcakes

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Add the grated butter and stir just until the butter is incorporated and coarse crumbs appear throughout the dough.
Pour buttermilk on top of flour mixture. Stir just until combined -- you don't want to overwork the dough. The dough will look crumbly, but it will come together in the next steps.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, like a countertop or pastry board. Gently using your hands, combine the dough so that it comes together and then pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. If necessary, you can flour your hands to work with the dough if it's a bit sticky.
Fold one side of the dough toward the center, and then fold the other side on top of the first fold like a letter. Flatten into a 1-inch-thick rectangle again and then give it a quarter turn. Repeat three more times and flatten into the final 1-inch-thick rectangle. (Please see the blog for photos if that's helpful.)
Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into shortcakes. Do not twist the cookie cutter. Simply press down, lift straight up and gently remove the dough. Reshape the scraps and cut more shortcakes. This recipe should yield about six shortcakes.
Place the shortcake dough close together in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Alternatively, you can use a baking pan, but the cast-iron skillet will give you a nice crust. Brush with additional buttermilk and bake until the tops start to brown, about 15 minutes.

Apple Filling

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the apples, maple syrup, dark brown sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples soften, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside. You can serve right away or store up to three days and reheat before serving.

Maple Whipped Cream

In a large mixing bowl, add heavy cream, maple syrup and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form.
Set aside. This can also be made up to a day ahead of serving. Whisk or fluff up with a fork before serving.
Slice shortcakes in half. Spoon the apple filling on the bottom half and top with maple whipped cream. Place the other half of the shortcake on the whipped cream, and then repeat the fruit layer and whipped cream on top. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

If you want to make the shortcakes ahead of time, they will keep for three days in an airtight container. Before serving, place back in the cast-iron skillet or baking sheet, cover with foil and heat in a 350-degree oven until warm, about five to 10 minutes.
For best results, we want to keep the shortcake dough as cold as possible. I like to place the butter and flour in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before preparing to help with this.
Check the expiration date on your baking powder. If it's expired, you absolutely need to replace it, or we want get the proper rise.
To prevent tough biscuits, we want to stir the dough just until combined and use a gentle touch as we shape each circle.
While this step is optional, I like to place the biscuits in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before baking to ensure the dough is nice and chilled before baking. This also gives you a chance to prepare the filling and whipped cream.
I recommend baking in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. The cast iron gets blazing hot for perfectly crisp bottoms.
Place the cut-out dough close together before putting in the oven. This also helps with the rising.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition