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...
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.
Step 2: Make the Shortcake Biscuits
In a large bowl (or food processor), combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ¼ 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.
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 ¾-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.
Arrange the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet with their sides touching. Brush with cream and sprinkle sugar on top.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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:
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Bread
- Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Poppy Seed Dressing
- Strawberry Freezer Jam
- Strawberry Crisp
Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING:
- 4 pints ripe strawberries (about 8 cups), stemmed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
FOR THE SHORTCAKE BISCUITS:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, plus extra 1 tablespoon for sprinkling on top
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) salted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- 1 ¼ cup heavy cream or buttermilk, plus 2 additional tablespoons for brushing tops
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
- 1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Chill a medium-size bowl and a whisk or whisk attachment or rotary blades of an electric mixer (for whipping the cream).
PREPARE THE STRAWBERRY FILLING:
- Cut the berries into ¼-inch-thick slices and place them in a large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and lemon juice; set aside and let sit for at least 1 hour.
MAKE THE SHORTCAKE BISCUITS:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large food processor, combine flour, baking powder, salt and ¼ cup of sugar. Pulse until blended.
- Add the chilled butter and pulse until incorporated (there will still be some small chunks of butter).
- Slowly pour in the buttermilk or cream, pulsing as you go. Stop pulsing as soon as the dough comes together.
- Turn out onto lightly floured surface and press to ¾-inch height. Cut desired shape (I use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter). Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, but do not twist. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high. Arrange biscuits (with sides touching) on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with 2 remaining tablespoons of cream; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet and onto a wire rack to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before using as shortcakes.
MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM:
- Using the chilled whisk or electric mixer attachment and bowl, whip the cream with the vanilla and the confectioners’ sugar until it holds soft peaks (about 3 minutes).
TO SERVE:
- Slice the biscuits in half and fill with strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Rae
I am Lazy ..so my version is with Bisquick. canned whipped cream. and a microwave
Blair
That sounds delicious too, Rae! 🙂