by Chef Ming Tsai

Ingredients (servers 4)
4 sweet biscuits (recipe below)
2 cups Lychee Cranberry Salsa (recipe below)
2 cups sweetened whipped cream

Directions:
Split biscuits in half horizontally and place a generous spoonful of salsa. Place biscuit half on top and cover with more salsa and whipped cream. Garnish with a mint sprig if desired.

Sweet Biscuits
Ingredients (Makes 24 2 1/2-3 inch biscuits)
1 stick plus 4 tablespoons butter, very cold
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
2 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Heavy cream
Turbinado sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Cube butter into walnut-size pieces and place in refrigerator. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine dry ingredients and lemon zest. Using the paddle attachment, mix butter into dry ingredients until butter is broken down in size a bit, but is not fully incorporated. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and vanilla extract. Add egg mixture slowly to flour mixture until well incorporated, but not over mixed. Remove dough from mixer and place on a lightly floured surface. Form dough into a loose ball and cover tightly in plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove dough from fridge and place on a floured work surface. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness, give it one “book-fold,” roll back out to 1/2-inch and cut into desired size for shortcakes. Put shortcakes on a parchment lined or greased baking sheet, brush with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for approx. 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Lychee Cranberry Salsa
Ingredients (Makes 1 quart)
2 cans lychees, strained
1 bag cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely chopped
Juice of 1 orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until medium-coarse in texture. Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Tip: In addition to using this recipe in some delicious desserts, the lychee cranberry salsa is great as an accompaniment to pork or poultry dishes.

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Chef Ming Tsai is currently the host and executive producer of the Public Television cooking show, SIMPLY MING, now in its third season. His Simply Ming video podcasts, the first of their kind, feature tutorials on everything from filleting fish to decanting wine. Ming is also the author of three cookbooks: Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, and Ming’s Master Recipes. For more information visit www.ming.com.