Strawberry Shortcake
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Sunny days call for homemade strawberry shortcake—with juicy berries, tender buttermilk biscuits, and plenty of whipped cream. It’s easier to make than you’d think, and the perfect way to wrap up any spring or summer meal.
Strawberry shortcake—made with sugar-crusted biscuits, sweet macerated berries, and heaps of whipped cream—is one of my go-to desserts once the weather warms up. And when everything is made from scratch, it’s truly something special (so say goodbye to store-bought pound cake and Cool Whip topping).
If baking from scratch sounds daunting, don’t worry: my biscuit recipe is simple and foolproof, even for beginners. The dough comes together in one bowl, and instead of rolling or cutting it out, I shape it into free-form balls. This creates a craggy texture that soaks up the strawberry juices without getting soggy. And homemade whipped cream is a cinch.
Strawberry shortcake is the perfect light dessert for spring and summer holidays like Easter, Mother’s Day, and the 4th of July. Got extra strawberries in the fridge? Put them to work in my strawberry rhubarb crisp or summer berry trifle!
“These are the strawberry shortcakes of my childhood that I have been trying to recreate for decades!! The slightly sweet, craggy biscuits, sweet berries and whipped cream brought back a flood of memories.”
What You’ll Need To Make Strawberry Shortcake
- All-purpose flour and Cornstarch: This combination is used to give the shortcake biscuits their structure and texture. Adding the cornstarch softens the proteins in the dough, yielding a more tender biscuit. It’s meant to mimic White Lily flour, the flour used in true Southern biscuits.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Leavening agents that help the biscuits rise, making them light and fluffy. Make sure yours are fresh so you get the right effect – they generally last about six months once opened.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the biscuit dough, strawberries, and whipped cream, while turbinado sugar is sprinkled on top of the biscuits to create a sweet, crunchy crust.
- Cold butter: “Cut” into the biscuits so that when baked, the cold pieces melt creating steam pockets that rise, leading to a flaky, rich texture. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the saltiness of the biscuits.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture to the biscuit dough, contributing to the tender texture and rich flavor. If you’d rather not buy a whole carton for this recipe, you can make homemade buttermilk using milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- Strawberries & Raspberry Jam: Combined to make a sweet, juicy berry filling. Strawberries are the classic choice for shortcake, but you can make this dessert with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or mixed berries. I don’t recommend using frozen strawberries for this recipe.
- Heavy cream: Whipped to make a light and creamy filling for the shortcake.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine dry ingredients for the biscuits. Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk them together to evenly disperse the ingredients.
Pro Tip: If you’ve got time, pop the bowl into the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes before adding the dry ingredients. Keeping the dry ingredients cool helps the butter stay firm in the next step, which is the secret to a flaky, tall biscuit.
Step 2: Add the cold butter. Add the pieces of butter to the bowl and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized clumps of butter within. You’re aiming for it to look similar to the texture in the bowl below.
Step 3: Add the buttermilk. Using a rubber spatula, stir the buttermilk into the flour and butter mixture until the dough comes together into a sticky, shaggy mass.
Pro Tip: Stop stirring as soon as you don’t see any more streaks of dry flour. Over-mixing the dough can make the biscuits dense.
Step 4: Shape the biscuits. Using lightly floured hands, form the dough into 8 craggy-looking balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Each biscuit should be bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball. Sprinkle the tops with the turbinado sugar.
Pro Tip: Don’t worry about making them perfect—it’s better if they’re a little rough around the edges. Those edges catch the turbinado sugar, which turns into caramelized bits in the oven.
Step 5: Bake. Bake the biscuits for 13 to 15 minutes, until golden, then remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool while you prepare the strawberries.
Step 6: Mash some of the berries. Put one-third of the berries in a medium bowl and use a potato masher or fork to mash them into a chunky purée.
Step 7: Mix in remaining ingredients and macerate. Add the remaining berries, along with the raspberry jam and granulated sugar. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. As they sit, the strawberries will release their juices, mixing with the jam and sugar, and turning more saucy.
Step 8: Make the whipped cream. While the berries macerate, whip the heavy cream using an electric mixer or by hand until soft peaks form. Sprinkle the sugar over the cream and beat until soft peaks return. Careful not to overwhip!
Step 9: Assemble. When all the components are ready, assemble the strawberry shortcakes. Use a serrated knife to split the biscuits in half horizontally and place the bottoms on 8 dessert plates. Spoon about three-quarters of the macerated berries and their juices over the biscuit bottoms—it’s totally fine if some of the berries spill onto the plate. Add a big dollop of whipped cream, then top with the other biscuit half. Finish with a few more berries and cream on top, and serve right away.
Pro Tip: Use a gentle sawing motion with your serrated knife to split the biscuits. This prevents you from squishing the airy center.
Want to get a head start? The unbaked biscuits can be refrigerated for up to an hour or frozen for up to three months. The macerated berries should be refrigerated and used within one day. Whipped cream can be made a few hours early; underbeat it slightly, refrigerate, and give it a final whip by hand just before serving.
Strawberry Shortcake Video Tutorial
More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love
Strawberry Shortcake
This from-scratch strawberry shortcake is everything a strawberry dessert should be: fresh, luscious, and completely irresistible.
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch chunks
- ¾ cup buttermilk (see note)
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
For the Strawberries
- 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
- ½ cup granulated sugar
For the Whipped Cream
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
For the Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a 13x18-in baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt.
- Add the pieces of cold butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized clumps of butter within. Add the buttermilk and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together into a sticky, shaggy mass. Do not overmix.
- With lightly floured hands, form the dough into 8 craggy-looking balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. (They should be bigger than golf balls but smaller than tennis balls.) Don't worry about making them perfect -- it's better if they are a little rough around the edges. Sprinkle the tops with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden.
For the Strawberries
- Put one-third of the berries in a medium bowl and, using a potato masher or a fork, mash them into a chunky purée. Mix in the remaining berries, along with the raspberry jam and granulated sugar. Let the berries sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, until saucy.
For the Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or beaters), whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the cream and beat until soft peaks return. Do not overbeat. (Alternatively, the whipped cream can be beaten by hand in a deep mixing bowl with a whisk.)
To Assemble
- To assemble the shortcakes: Using a serrated knife, split the biscuits in half horizontally and transfer the bottoms to 8 dessert plates. Spoon about three-quarters of the macerated berries and their juice evenly over the biscuit bottoms. Let some of the berries spill out onto the plate. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and cover each with a biscuit top. Spoon more berries and cream over each shortcake and serve immediately.
- Note: If you’d prefer not to buy it, check out some easy guidance on here using milk, lemon juice, or vinegar.
- Make Ahead: The unbaked biscuits can be refrigerated for up to 1 hour before baking. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze: place the unbaked biscuits on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until solid. Remove the firm biscuits from the freezer, place in an airtight bag, and store in the freezer. Bake the biscuits directly from the freezer, allowing a few extra minutes baking time. The whipped cream can be made a few hours before serving but err on the side of under-beating. Store it covered in the refrigerator and give it a final whip by hand to get it to a pillowy consistency just before serving. The strawberries cannot be made ahead.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 strawberry shortcake
- Calories: 565
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Carbohydrates: 67 g
- Sugar: 35 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 533 mg
- Cholesterol: 100 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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So good