Summer Tropical Shortcake

Serves 4

By Paul Bodrogi

Fruit Medley Ingredients
- 2 mangoes
- 2 kiwi fruit
- 1 pineapple

Fruit Medley Procedure
- Peel and slice the mangoes, and grill one minute on each side.
- Dice other fruits, and combine in a bowl.
- Dice the grilled mango, and add to the fruit mix.

Meringue Ingredients
- 2 oz. egg whites
- 2 oz. sugar

Meringue Procedure
- Combine egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl, and whip to medium peaks.

Orange Sauce Ingredients
- 12 oz. orange juice (fresh squeezed is preferred)
- 1 oz. sugar
- vanilla bean, cut in half and seeds scraped

Orange Sauce Procedure
- Combine all ingredients in a pot over low heat, and reduce by 25%.
- Allow the sauce to cool before using.

Summer Biscuit Ingredients
- 8 oz. all-purpose flour
- 5 oz. cake flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- teaspoon salt
- 4 oz. butter, cut into large pieces
- 9 oz. buttermilk
- Zest of lime
- Zest of lemon
- Powdered sugar for garnish

Summer Biscuit Procedure
- In a mixer, combine all the ingredients except the buttermilk.
- Using a paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Stream in the buttermilk, and mix until just combined.
- Remove the dough to a floured work surface, and knead a couple of times, being careful not to overwork the dough.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of of an inch.
- Cut the dough with a 2-inch biscuit cutter.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.
- After cooling, cut in half.

Assembly
- Place the bottom half of the biscuit on a plate.
- Arrange fruit around and on top of the biscuit half.
- Cover the fruit with the orange sauce.
- Scoop the meringue on top of the biscuit, and cover with the remaining biscuit half.
- Dust the biscuit with powdered sugar.