Pour sugar into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk, and keep whisking, as sugar melts. It will clump and you'll think you're doing it all wrong. You're not. :)
Once sugar is melted, stop whisking and let sugar cook until it is deep amber in color. *Carefully* add butter (mixture will bubble!) and whisk to incorporate.
Remove mixture from the heat. Add cream (carefully!) and whisk until smooth. Add salt and stir to incorporate. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
For Biscuits:
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment (see note) and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal [see note], sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Stir to combine.
Add cold, diced butter and, using a pastry blender (see note) or fork, cut the butter in until no large pieces remain.
Add buttermilk (see note) and honey. Gently stir to combine, making sure not to overwork the dough. The dough will be sticky and soft.
Generously flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto the flour. Sprinkle additional flour on top, and use your hands to pat the dough into a circle that's about 1" thick.
Cut biscuits using a round cutter (I used a 2¾" biscuit cutter, see note). You can gather the scraps and gently press them together to cut additional biscuits. Be sure to just press down with the cutter and not twist, as the twisting motion may seal the edges and keep your biscuits from rising! Since the dough is sticky, I found it helpful to dip the cutter in flour before each cut.
Place the biscuits on the prepared pan and bake until golden, about 14 minutes.
For Baked Apples:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel apples (if you prefer) and slice into ¼" thick slices. Place in a 9"x13" baking dish (glass or ceramic).
Drizzle the lemon juice over the apples and toss to coat. Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until apples are coated.
Pour ½ cup of the salted caramel sauce over the apples and stir to coat. Bake apples until tender, about 40 minutes.
For Whipped Cream:
Combine all whipped cream ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start the mixer on low speed, and gradually increase the speed to high. Whip until the cream thickens and forms peaks.
Assembly:
Wait until you're planning to serve the shortcakes to assemble them. Split the biscuits and top each with the baked apples. This can be served room temperature or warmed (and it's sooo good warmed)!
Top the apples with the whipped cream, then the top halves of the biscuits. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Note on salted caramel sauce: This recipe is completely delicious, and makes enough caramel that you’ll have leftovers to drizzle over your shortcakes (a must)! All that said, you can opt for a store-bought salted caramel sauce and it will still be completely delicious!Note on cornmeal: Using fine cornmeal will keep your biscuits from being gritty. I usually have to buy mine online because my local grocery store tends to carry medium and coarsely ground cornmeal. If you’re interested in getting yourself some, this is the kind I use here.
Note on pastry blender: While a pastry blender isn’t necessary to cut in the butter, it does make the job faster and easier. If you’re looking to buy one for yourself, you can find one here.
Note on buttermilk: For best results, I do suggest that you use buttermilk! That said, you can make a quick substitution if you don’t have it on-hand. For this recipe, put ¾ teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup, then add enough milk (I find that 2% milkfat or greater works best) to come up to the ¾ cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes, then it’s ready for use!
Note on biscuit cutter: I used a 2.75″ biscuit cutter for my biscuits, like from this set here).
Note on parchment: I use pre-cut nonstick parchment to line my pans because they're convenient and because this dough is a bit sticky. If you’d like to get some for yourself, you can find them here.