Berry Shortcake Recipe from Disney’s Flower and Garden Festival

One of our favorite parts of any EPCOT Festival is the food. And Disney’s Flower and Garden Festival serves up some of the best! One of our favorite recurring foods on the Flower and Garden Festival Menus is the EPCOT Warm Wildberry Cake Recipe from The Berry Basket. This buckle adds a berry compote to the batter, and an oatmeal streusel and ice cream to the top of this fresh but luxurious dessert for spring.

This dessert is surprisingly easy, and immensely forgiving, even for non-bakers. We prefer to bake these little cakes in ramekins, as they provide the perfect serving size. If choosing to use a pan, aim for a smaller pan. As a fresh berry dessert, this is a great treat for Easter, or anytime this spring. This EPCOT Wildberry Cake is made in three steps. But don’t be intimidated! It’s super easy. The steps are as follows. 

1. Make the Berry compote first, this will give the frozen berries time to thaw. 
2. Put the Cake batter together next
3. Prepare the Oatmeal Streusel topping
4. Bake and Top with ice cream and berries

Wildberry Compote Recipe

Ok, there are a TON of berries in this cake. It’s important to respect the thawed and fresh instruction next to each berry, as it affects the amount of liquid in the recipe. But, if you don’t typically have frozen berries on hand, and don’t want to separate bags of frozen blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, then you can buy a triple berry blend of frozen berries. If you go this route, make sure your triple berries are just blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Do not use frozen Strawberries. They hold too much water and lose a lot of flavor. Fresh Strawberries here will give you the best results. Serving Size: Makes 8 cakes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup frozen blackberries, thawed
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1/2cup frozen blueberries, thawed
• 2 cup quartered fresh strawberries, divided
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Combine lemon juice, orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add thawed blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and 1 cup of fresh strawberries. Puree using an immersion blender until smooth.
2. Gently fold in the fresh blueberries and the remaining 1 cup of strawberries.
3. Set aside.

Vanilla Shortcake Recipe

Don’t be intimidated by making cake batter from scratch. This is a very good, easy-to-make cake. It’s light and fluffy, and flavorful. As with all baking, it’s important to measure the ingredients properly. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it before adding it to your mixing bowl. Aim for vegetable shortening without trans fat, or you can substitute shortening with coconut oil instead. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray eight 8-ounce ramekins with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream shortening and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape the sides of the mixer.
5. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture, and half of the milk, mixing well. Add remaining flour and milk. Mix in vanilla.

Oatmeal  Streusel Topping

This topping is your basic oatmeal topping, made with warm butter and lightly cooked. For a richer flavor, you can substitute dark brown sugar, for light. And we always recommend piling on the spices, so added 2 tbsp of cinnamon, instead of 1 tbsp. But feel free to adjust the spice to your preference. 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Mix all-purpose flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and oats in a medium bowl. Pour melted butter over dry ingredients and mix until wet.
3. Sprinkle on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes and crumble.

Wildberry Cake Assembly

• Place 1/3 cup of cake batter in the bottom of each prepared ramekin. Top with 1/3 cup of berry compote.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cake, is set.
• Cool for 5 minutes. Turn warm berry buckles onto a plate.
• Top with oatmeal streusel and strawberry ice cream.
  • While there is nothing like a Strawberry ice cream made from scratch,  sometimes you just don’t have the time! Grab your favorite at the store to make things easier.