Winter Apple and Cherry Shortcake

If you like the simplicity and down-home goodness of old-fashioned desserts, I hope you'll give this newfangled interpretation of shortcake a try. It pairs fall harvest fruits with spiced biscuit layers to create a dessert that is delicious and well worth the minimal effort that it takes to prepare. The recipe was created for Midwest Living magazine, and their developers took an already simple dish and made it easier still. They paired a canned pie filling with frozen cherries and used the combination to fill and top the shortcake. I made one small change to their recipe. I used 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon oil in place of the vanilla extract called for in the recipe below. I thought the cinnamon flavor was more in keeping with the fall nature of the dessert and hoped it would better mask any tinny flavor that might be associated with the canned apples. Here is how the winter shortcake is made..

Winter Apple and Cherry Shortcake

Ingredients:
Shortcake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup milk
Apple-Cherry Filling (see recipe below)
3/4 to 1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease an 8 x1-1/2 inch round cake pan. Set aside.
2) To make shortcake: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Mix egg and milk in a small bowl, then pour into flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Split into 2 layers.
3) Meanwhile prepare filling using recipe below. Spoon half of warm filling over bottom shortcake layer and top with half of whipped cream. Top with second layer, remaining filling and whipped cream. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Apple-Cherry Filling

Ingredients:
1 (21-oz.) can apple pie filling
1 cup frozen tart red cherries
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine apple pie filling and cherries. Cook and stir mixture till heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.