How to make ... Berry Ginger Shortcakes - Candice

Everyone I know knows I am a fan of desserts and strawberries. When I was younger my grandmother on my mothers side would make something very similar to this dessert. Every Easter my family and I would gather for dinner at her house and dinner was always followed by this dessert. However at a fairly young age my grandmother passed away. After she passed away the family stopped gathering at her house, the huge dinner that combined both sides of the family slowly ceased to exist and the dessert was no longer made.Over the years I forgot about this tasteful dessert. Until one day my best friends mother invited me over to what seemed like a typical dinner. However she surprised me with Berry Ginger Shortcakes, a dessert her mother made for her since she was a child. She had not made it for me before because she did not know the recipe and it was not until the previous weekend that her mother visited from Arizona and gave her the family recipe book in which this dessert was enclosed. After seeing how much I enjoyed this dessert she shared the recipe with me. I then shared the recipe with my family and prepared the dessert for them. The recipe brought back many old memories for my family so we decided to restart the tradition and begin creating this dessert every Easter once again in remembrance of my grandmother.
Prep:20 minutes
Makes: 10 individual shortcakes
You will need:
Nonstick cooking spray
1&2⁄3 cup of flour
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon of baking soda
3 tablespoons of butter
1⁄2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 cups of fresh berries ( sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries/ blackberries)
2 tablespoons of crystallized ginger ( crystallized ginger is easier to mix with the berries and less potent also adds a kick to berry filling)
1⁄2 of an 8 ounce frozen whipped dessert topping thawed
1⁄4 cup of fat free sour cream

1. First preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit and lightly spray a cooking sheet with non stick cooking spray, set aside (you want to make sure the cooking spray is non stick or else your shortbread will stick to the pan and be ruined)
   
2. In a medium bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, egg, and baking soda together (make sure the butter is mixed thoroughly, the butter is hard to mix so you might want to use a electrical blender of some sort because a spoon will be fairly difficult)
   

3. On a lightly floured surface pat the dough to about 1⁄2 an inch thickness and place on baking sheet (any smaller and the shortcakes will be too small and any bigger will need more berries)
   
4. * This step is not necessary* If desired cut the dough with floured cookie cutters of whatever desired shape before placing on baking sheet
   
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a nice golden brown then take out the shortcakes and place them down to cool for 5 minutes.(make sure to cool for 5 minutes or until the shortcakes are not too warm to ensure the cream mixture does not melt so easily when applied later on)
   
6. In a medium bowl combine the berries and crystallized ginger (do not over mix the berries and ginger so that it is liquid-like, globs of berries and ginger more on the solid side provide a better berry filling )
   
7. In a separate bowl combine whip cream and sour cream (the sour cream can barely be tasted it is more for a hint of a tarte like whip)
   
8. Finally split the shortcake (the sugar,powder,butter,..etc) in half and apply as much of the berry mixture to each half, then top the berries with some of the whipped/sour cream and combine together again like a sandwich. (Warning: the berry/ginger mixture may be somewhat messy, do not be surprised if it oozes out of your strawberry shortcake)
   

Voila! you have prepared berry ginger shortcakes enjoy!