Peaches and pancetta: a practically perfect pairing.
I wish I had a super personal story to share about these shortcakes. To be honest, I was just obsessed with the idea of peaches and pancetta—p and p, sweet and savory—and knew I had to bring them together on a biscuit before summer was over.
Sweet, juicy peaches piled on a pancetta-studded biscuit, crowned with a cloud of brown sugar whipped cream. Those crispy pancetta nuggets bring little pops of salt that perfect accent the sweetness of the peaches and cream, and as for that shortcake biscuit? Soft and pillowy, tender and flaky—it doesn’t get much better.
Do you have to use pancetta? Well . . . I guess not. You could crisp up some bacon to fold into the biscuit and sprinkle over the shortcakes instead, and you’d still get those little salty pops to balance the sweet cream and fruit. But you wouldn’t get that certain chewiness that the little pancetta nuggets offer: that little bit of texture to play against the tender biscuit and soft whipped cream. . . And you wouldn’t get the fun of the double “p.”
Not every dish we make has to have a complicated backstory; sometimes we can just create something because it sounds delightful and fun, or just plain delicious. These pancetta and peach biscuits are all of those things—and so much more.
Enjoy!
Peach and Pancetta Shortcakes
(Serves 6)
For the biscuits:
4 oz pancetta, finely chopped
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp brown sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
½ c. (113 g.) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
2/3 cup (160 grams) heavy cream, cold
For the peaches and cream:
3 peaches, sliced
6 tbsp. brown sugar, divided
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream, cold
Special equipment: baking sheet, parchment paper, hand blender
Method
For the biscuits:
In a large pan over medium heat, cook pancetta until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is crispy, 10-15 minutes. Drain, reserving pancetta fat, and let cool.
Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a mixer using the paddle attachment, stir together flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. Mix in cold butter cubes until they are the size of hazelnuts. Mix in about ¼ cup cooked pancetta, then add cold cream and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat out to an even ½-inch thickness. Using a round 3-inch cutter dipped in flour, cut out round biscuits and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Knead scraps together briefly and pat out again; cut more biscuits from the scraps (you should get about 6 biscuits. Transfer all cut biscuits to prepared baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes or freeze for 10.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush chilled biscuits with pancetta fat and sprinkle with additional brown sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until light golden brown on the bottoms.
For the peaches and cream:
In a large bowl, toss sliced peaches with 3 tablespoons brown sugar and pinch of kosher salt. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
In another large bowl, whip heavy cream with remaining 3 tablespoons brown sugar until soft peaks form.
To serve:
Split biscuits in half. Top bottoms with macerated peaches, a dollop of whipped cream, and a sprinkling of reserved pancetta.
Originally posted August 27, 2022.
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