Active Time
1 Hour
Total Time
1 Hour 30 minutes
How is this shortcake different from all others? Cake flour makes it extra-tender, for starters, then it's baked in one big circle and bathed in tarragon-infused butter. You might never go back.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Peaches:
Shortcake and assembly:
Preparation
Step 1
Peaches Using the tip of a paring knife, score an X in the bottom of each peach. Cook in a large pot of boiling water just until skins begin to peel back where cut, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl of ice water; let cool. Peel; cut over a medium bowl into 1/4"-thick wedges, collecting juices.
Step 2
Add tarragon and sugar to peaches and toss to combine. Let stand, tossing occasionally, until peaches release their juices and sugar is dissolved, about 1 hour.
Shortcake and assembly:
Step 3
Preheat oven to 425°. Heat butter and tarragon in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted; set aside.
Step 4
Whisk cake flour, baking powder, salt, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a large bowl. Drizzle chilled cream over and mix gently until dough holds together.
Step 5
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a shaggy ball, being careful not to overwork. Place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and form into an 8"-diameter disk, about 1/2" thick. Brush with some reserved melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
Step 6
Bake until shortcake edges are golden brown, 12–15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Bake until golden brown all over, 8–10 minutes longer.
Step 7
Brush shortcake with remaining melted butter. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Cut shortcake into 8 wedges, spoon peaches and their juices over, and top with whipped cream.
Leave a Review
Reviews (5)
Back to TopP.s. I agreed with the other reviewer and only added 1/4 cup sugar to the peaches. And I added creme fraiche rather than whipcream to the top. Again, flavor profiles were great, just the cake/biscuit was dissatisfying.
tracypie5
San Francisco, CA
8/30/2015
The flavor profile was great, but the cake was more like a biscuit and super dense. I don't think I wound up cooking it long enough because it wasn't flaky on the inside like a biscuit, it was a little gummy and appeared undercooked even though I stuck a knife in it and it came out clean. I don't think I would try this again with this cake for the amount of work it was. Usually the recipes on Epicurious are great. It's my go-to recipe site, but this one was disappointing due to the amount of effort for the payoff. Maybe I'll try this with an olive oil thyme/tarragon cake next time.
tracypie5
San Francisco, CA
8/30/2015
This was amazing! Not too sweet, add only the smallest amount of sugar to balance the acidity of the peaches. My peaches were very sweet and not tart enough so I added the juice of a lemon. The tarragon in this dessert really gave it a more sophisticated feel and the need for sweetness was diminished because there was much more depth of flavor than a typical, overly sweet, shortcake dessert. I only had salted butter on hand which worried me initially because of the butter wash over the shortcake but the salt actually brought out the diversity of the flavors. I made my own whipped cream with lemon zest, vanilla, and a couple teaspoons of sugar. Beat on low about 20 minutes with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.
danamm87
Boise, Idaho
8/23/2015
A little time consuming, but worth the effort. Great mix of savory and sweet. I would use 1/4 cup of sugar in stead of 1/2 cup and lots of tarragon. I used the extra cream to make whipped cream, which really made it extra special. I only hold on to the best recipes and this is a winner!
totentanz
Washington D.C.
8/23/2015
Easy and excellent. This followed a big dinner of ribs, homemade coleslaw and potato salad (to which I added tarragon for continuity), corn on the cob, garden tomatoes. We should've been too full to really appreciate this dessert but it was so good everyone licked their plates clean. One note: if you're not sure you're going to finish it in one sitting, keep the peaches separate and add to each serving rather than topping the whole shortcake, since I'm not sure it would keep well topped. Enjoy!
slccook
Utah
8/4/2014
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