Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Make an old-fashioned Strawberry Shortcake recipe from scratch with a few simple ingredients!

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Make an old-fashioned Strawberry Shortcake recipe from scratch with just a few simple ingredients! This classic dessert has been a favorite for generations, thanks to tender, flaky biscuits that are topped with fluffy whipped cream and juicy, sweet strawberries. It’s the perfect spring or summer treat when fresh berries are in season!

A simple homemade Strawberry Shortcake recipe is easier than you think! Skip the store-bought sponge cake and the Cool Whip, because you just can’t beat the classic combination of buttery biscuits, clouds of freshly whipped cream, and bright, juicy berries. It’s summer on a plate!

The History of Strawberry Shortcake:

If you’re not familiar with this old-fashioned dessert, it’s a really basic (yet delicious) pairing. In America, shortcake is a sweet crumbly biscuit that’s typically leavened with baking powder or baking soda, dropped or cut into shapes, and then baked at a high temperature until set. To make a classic Strawberry Shortcake recipe, the shortcakes are split and filled with strawberries (and their juices), plus whipped cream. Many folks even add another layer of strawberries and whipped cream on top of the shortcake!

While the first strawberry shortcake recipe dates back to an English cookbook in 1588, a similar biscuit-and-fruit dessert served with butter and hot cream was popular in America by about 1850. This dessert was called Strawberry Shortcake, and in some parts of the Southern United States is still prepared using pie crust in rounds (rather than the biscuit base). In America, it was common to hold Strawberry Shortcake parties to celebrate the summer fruit harvest. The tradition continues to this day, as June 14 is national Strawberry Shortcake Day! Let’s party…

Front shot of an old fashioned strawberry shortcake recipe on a blue and white plate

How to make a Strawberry Shortcake Recipe from Scratch:

For this easy recipe, I’ve basically just adapted one of my favorite buttermilk biscuit recipes to create a slightly sweet shortcake. You can use a food processor, a stand mixer, or just some good old elbow grease (with a pastry cutter or knives) to quickly combine the dough. While there are a few different steps required, each component of this strawberry shortcake dessert recipe can be prepared in advance to avoid any last-minute stress. Perfect for entertaining!

Ingredients for an easy Strawberry Shortcake Recipe:

Fresh strawberries
Granulated sugar
Lemon juice
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Kosher salt
Butter
Heavy cream
Vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar

Before you get started…

Chill a medium-size bowl and a whisk or whisk attachment or rotary blades of an electric mixer. You will need these to make the whipped cream later, and it’s best if they’re really cold!

Step 1: Prepare the Strawberry Filling

Slice the strawberries and stir them together with the lemon juice and sugar. Set aside and let the berries macerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.

Macerated strawberries in a glass mixing bowl

Step 2: Make the Shortcake Biscuits

In a large bowl (or food processor), combine the flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup of sugar. Add the chilled butter and pulse (or cut with a pastry cutter or knives) just until the butter is about the size of peas.

Dry ingredients for shortcake dough in a food processor

Slowly pour in the cream or buttermilk, pulsing as you go, until the dough comes together. Then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to about 3/4-inch height. Cut the desired shapes — I use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter. You may need to re-roll the dough once in order to use most of the scraps.

Cutting out shortcake biscuits on a wooden cutting board

Arrange the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet with their sides touching. Brush with cream and sprinkle sugar on top.

Shortcake biscuit dough on a parchment lined baking sheet

Bake the biscuits in a 425 degree F oven for about 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. They’ll need to cool on a wire rack for at least 10-15 more minutes.

Split shortcake biscuit on a blue and white plate

Step 3: Prepare the Whipped Cream

While the biscuits cool, prepare the whipped cream by mixing together the cream, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form (about 3 minutes).

Step 4: Assemble the Strawberry Shortcake

Once the biscuit have cooled, it’s time to assemble your traditional strawberry shortcake recipe! First, split the biscuit in half. Add the whipped cream and strawberry shortcake filling, and then replace the top of the biscuit. Some folks like to add more strawberries and whipped cream on top of the biscuit, which is perfectly fine, too!

Horizontal shot of Strawberry Shortcake on a plate

Preparation and Storage Tips:

The strawberries need time to “macerate,” which means that you let them sit in the sugar in order to draw out the juices, soften, and become sweet and saucy. They’ll need to macerate for at least 1 hour, but you can do this up to 1 day ahead.
You can also prepare the whipped cream up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
The biscuits can be baked up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the biscuits for up to 3 months.

Tips for Perfect Shortcake:

The butter and cream need to be as cold as possible for flaky and tender biscuits. You can freeze the cubed butter for about 10-20 minutes before using it or keep it in the refrigerator. I also keep the cream in the refrigerator right up until it’s time to add it to the food processor.
Be careful not to overwork the dough. The food processor is great to quickly pulse the ingredients, but stop processing as soon as the dough comes together. Otherwise you’ll end up with tough, dry biscuits.
When cutting out your biscuits, do not twist the cutter into the dough. Instead, firmly press straight down. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals the edges of the biscuits, which prevents them from rising as high.
Make sure that the sides of the biscuits are touching when you arrange them on the baking sheet. This will help them rise even higher!

Side shot of a plate of strawberry shortcake recipe with a bowl of berries on the wooden table

Tips for making Whipped Cream:

The Best Type of Cream to Use: For a sturdy foam you’ll need whipping cream (30% to 35% fat) or heavy whipping cream (36% minimum). Ultra-pasteurized dairy products will make a decent whipped cream, although the flavors taste a little more “cooked.” Standard pasteurized cream will whip up more easily and hold better peaks, so use that if you can.
Keep it Cold! Chilling the bowl, whisk (or attachments) and cream is critical to successful whipped cream. Colder cream gives you higher peaks.
Start Slow: Use a lower speed to begin your whipping so that the cream won’t warm too quickly. This will build up smaller bubbles for a more stable foam. Gradually increase the speed as you see the bubbles form and the cream get thicker.
Whipping Time Can Vary Greatly: While I give an estimate of about 3 minutes for this recipe, don’t focus on the clock. In this case, it’s important to keep a close eye on the cream itself. Don’t walk away! The total time required to form the soft peaks will depend on the speed and the temperature of your ingredients. As a result, just watch the cream and notice when you start to see “tracks” or traces of the whisk in the cream itself. At this point, you’re almost to those soft peaks. Go slowly and don’t beat the cream too much. Even just a few seconds too long and your cream can go from soft and fluffy to thick and dense.

Small Batch Strawberry Shortcake:

Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, this recipe yields about 9 large biscuits. For a smaller batch, cut all of the ingredients in half. You can freeze any leftover biscuits to enjoy at another time when you have more fresh berries available.

Strawberry Shortcake recipe from scratch served on a blue and white plate

What to do with fresh picked strawberries:

If you have a bounty of fresh fruit that you picked yourself or that you scooped up at the market, here are a few more recipes to use up strawberries:

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