For the shortcake:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, 2 Tbls sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter is pea size. Quickly work in the 3/4 cup of cold cream until the mixture just holds together. Don't overmix or your dough will be tough.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it's about an inch thick. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut out the dough. Don't twist the cookie cutter. Press straight down, then remove the circle of dough. This will help the shortcake to rise higher. Put the cut dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little cream. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
For the peaches:
In a bowl, combine the peaches with brandy and 1/4 cup of sugar. Refrigerate until needed.
For the raspberry cream:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the mascarpone, raspberries, 3 Tbls sugar, and 1/4 cup of cream.
Assembly:
Split the shortcake in two with a serrated knife. Put a scoop of the peach mixture on top of the bottom biscuit, followed by a scoop of the whipped mascarpone. Sprinkle some toasted almonds on top of the mascarpone and put the top biscuit over the whole thing. If you want, you can sprinkle some powdered sugar over the shortcake.
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