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Strawberry Shortcake
Warm buttermilk biscuits filled with juicy, sweet strawberries and whipped cream make the best strawberry shortcake.
When it comes to strawberry shortcake, some people favor a cake-like base and others prefer a biscuit base. I am firmly in the latter camp. You just can’t beat a warm, crumbly buttermilk biscuit filled with juicy strawberries and whipped cream.
For those intimidated by making homemade biscuits, rest assured: these are easy to prepare. I mix the dough by hand the old-fashioned way. And, instead of rolling the dough out and cutting it with biscuit cutter, I shape it into free-form balls. Not only is this method easier, but it also gives the biscuits a craggy texture with lots of nooks and crannies, perfect for soaking up all the strawberry juices without getting soggy.
There’s absolutely nothing tricky about making strawberry shortcake; the key is to make it during peak strawberry season using the juiciest, sweetest strawberries you can find.
What You’ll Need To Make Strawberry Shortcake
As you can see, the recipe calls for buttermilk. If you’d rather not buy a whole carton for this recipe, it’s easy to make your own. Simply add 2-1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add milk to the 3/4-cup line and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly curdled and thickened.
How To Make Strawberry Shortcake
Begin by making the biscuits. These are a lightly sweetened version of the Almost Southern Buttermilk Biscuits in my cookbook. True Southern biscuits typically call for White Lily flour, a low-protein flour primarily available in the southern US states that makes for ultra-tender, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. I can’t find White Lily flour easily where I live, so my secret is to add a little cornstarch to the flour to get the same effect.
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.
It should look like this.
Add the buttermilk. (Note: If you’d rather not buy a whole carton of buttermilk for this recipe, it’s easy to make your own. Simply add 2-1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add milk to the 3/4-cup line and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly curdled and thickened.)
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. Set aside to cool.
While the biscuits cool, prepare 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.
Meanwhile, make the whipped cream. In an electric mixer or by hand, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form, then sprinkle the sugar over the cream and beat until soft peaks return. Do not overbeat.
How To Assemble Strawberry Shortcake
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.
More Strawberry Desserts
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Strawberry Cake
- Strawberry and Orange Salad with Citrus Syrup & Mint
- Summer Berry Trifle
Strawberry Shortcake
Warm buttermilk biscuits filled with juicy, sweet strawberries and whipped cream make the best strawberry shortcake.
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (see note below)
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
For the Strawberries
- 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
For the Whipped Cream
- 1-1/2 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 rather not buy a whole carton of buttermilk for this recipe, it's easy to make your own. Simply add 2-1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add milk to the 3/4-cup line and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly curdled and thickened.
- 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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Reviews & Comments
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I made this for my mom’s birthday in place of a birthday cake and it was a hit! It was easy to make and they are delicious when they are still warm from the oven. Frozen berries work just as well as fresh (just a bit juicier). This is going to be a go-to whenever I want scones/biscuits.
I made this for breakfast the other day because my daughter begged me. Why not? My whole family loved it! My husband said the biscuit taste more like a scone. I didn’t have raspberry jam but the strawberry consistency was still good. I made 1/2 the recipe because leftovers won’t taste as good. It’s delicious out of the oven.
Best ever short cake recipe and I have made a lot in my 70 years!
I have recommended this and many of your other recipes many times.
Just follow the recipe and the biscuits are amazing. The recipe and the biscuits are amazing I was so scared they would not come out right but they were perfect. I did add a little bit of vanilla extract to the whipped topping this recipe was the most amazing recipe that came out perfect I’m so glad I tried it. My friends devoured them!!!
I thought the shortcakes I’ve been making for years that have fresh o.j. & orange zest in them were the best, till now. Oh my, these are the best. I was looking for a change & thrilled to have come upon your recipe. TYVM.
OMG….I have never done a strawberry shortcake recipe and I was nervous to see how the biscuits would come out but they were amazing. I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. I froze some biscuits so I’m excited to make some more this week!
Jenn, thank you for the yummy recipes.
Sylvia
I would like to make these next week. My question is do we have to eat the same day or right away?if I make a few hrs before eating will they get hard?
Hi Sylvia, Making them a few hours ahead should be fine. Hope you enjoy!
Dear Jen, I just had to write and tell you what an amazing success these were tonight at dinner. My husband is so very often disappointed in strawberries, too hard, too tart, no flavour, etc. But I promised him that I was preparing the strawberries in a different way to counteract all those problems. When I delivered it to the table and he took his first bite – wow, he couldn’t stop exclaiming how good they were. I’m never to prepare strawberry shortcake any other way! The shortcake biscuits were great too. Thanks again!! From Melbourne, where a good strawberry shortcake can make a big difference to our day!!
I knew I was close to finally finding THE recipe for strawberry shortcake, when I read another reviewer’s ecstatic response to this recipe — it went something like, “Finally! I don’t have to look further in my long search for THE recipe!”
These biscuits are all the previous reviewers claim – light centers and crunchy tops. I think I can taste the cornstarch a little, and may reduce the cornstarch to 2 1/2T. However, I hateto mess with a good thing. My neighbor said it was the best she’d ever tasted.
Thanks for the at-last-I-found-it recipe, Jenn!.
Perfection!!! My strawberry loving granddaughter barely came up for air between bites!!!!
All reviews are spot on. By far this one has the unbelievable factor. The best biscuits I’ve EVER made . Ok I do sneak a little more sugar in the batter!!! thank you SO much. Great dessert.
I never take the time to write a review but holy cow this is the best desert I have every made. Thank you thank you thank you
Can you make one giant biscuit to make it an actual cake?
Thanks so much! Looking forward to trying it regardless.
Just saw your previous answer below! 8×8 looking forward to trying it!
Do you know what is equally satisfying as eating this dessert? Knowing that I will never have to look for another version of Strawberry Shortcake ever! The Cornstarch in the biscuits, as well as the Raspberry jam in the berry mixture turned out to be 2 unique additions that elevated hugely, this simple dessert. Mind you, it never hurts when you can find incredible Strawberries. When everything comes together, (as it did last night) I can see why some folks prefer a fruit dessert to chocolate! Thank you Jen, sincerely.
Amazingly good, easy, and relatively quick recipe. I added a squeeze of lemon juice and some zest into my strawberries, and a few torn mint leaves. Perfection. Also used vanilla bean paste to make the whipped cream a chantilly cream (I just love to see the little flecks of vanilla – feels fancy!).
These are delicious! I ended up baking 2 of the biscuits today and freezing the rest for another day, so I just used a quarter of the remaining ingredients for the strawberries and whipped cream. They ended up surprisingly big — I couldn’t finish mine! For me, they were a little on the sweet side, so I think I’d cut down the sugar a bit in the berries and the whipped cream next time. (My husband didn’t think they were too sweet.) I only had raspberry jam with seeds, so I used strawberry jam, instead. Thanks for another amazing recipe, Jenn!
I just made this for the first time. Sensational!
The biscuit adds texture and saltiness (with a touch of sweetness) that puts this recipe over the top. I grated frozen butter into the flour mixture and stirred it in with a fork, avoiding the use of fingers and making a quick preparation even easier.
Thank you for a PERFECT recipe!
I made this last night for some guests. It came out perfectly; best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever made, for sure. The biscuit is light, tender, and not dry. Jenn, your website is the place I go when I want something that I know will turn out really well. Thanks for all you do!
You’re welcome!! 🙂
That is an amazing idea! I will try that next time I make them, thanks!
I FINALLY made amazing biscuits!!! Thank you.
I changed up strawberry mix omitted jam and mixed in coconut sugar. Perfection.
This recipe is delicious! At first I thought raspberry jam sounded odd in it but it isn’t. It adds to the depth of fruit flavor without taking away from the strawberries. The texture with some mashed and some sliced is just right too. Add the real whipped cream and you have a perfect summer dessert!
The family LOVES this recipe. Definitely going in my archives.
Do the biscuits be freeze well and if so do I freeze the dough or cooked biscuits?
Hi Jamie, Yes, they do freeze well. I’d prep the dough, form the biscuits, and then bake directly from the freezer. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Delicious. !!! Highly recommend this recipe . Appreciate the instructional info. Photos of steps to follow are so helpful . Have not been disappointed in any recipe I have tried.
Best strawberry shortcake recipe I have ever made, no contest. I did not have cornstarch – or, actually, I know I do somewhere but could not for the life of me find it – so I just went without and the biscuits were amazingly light and tender anyway. I must have made mine a little too big because I only got 7 instead of 8, but that only meant more deliciousness per serving. I also never, ever, ever make homemade whipped cream (too lazy), but something about this recipe inspired me to do it – and of course, it was heavenly. Thanks again for a great recipe.
Absolutely perfect in every way, I’ll never use another recipe!
This recipe is so easy and SO good. Once again, you hit it out of the park with this one! Next time I make it, I might add just a little orange liquor to the strawberries. Not only beautiful, but SO yummy! Thank you again for sharing your talent with us!
Hi Jen- these look amazing and I just picked fresh strawberries from my garden that I want to use for this! However with the quarantine, I am worried I won’t be able to find turbinado sugar at my store. Can I sub brown sugar or would you use less of granulated? Please let me know your recommendation. Thank you!
Hi Mimi, I’d go with less of granulated. Hope you enjoy!
Fell in love with your blueberry muffins and now this! Absolutely amazing. Thanks Jenn for another wonderful dessert!
We made these strawberry shortcakes for Mother’s Day and like all of your recipes, this was easy to follow. They turned out amazing!! We made everything a few hours ahead of time and the berries and cream kept well in the fridge. I wish I could share a picture. Thank you!!
Hi I served this for dessert on shabbos and it was delicious and just perfect . Thank you so much for another keeper
Could the shortcake be made in a cake pan instead? If so, would an 8×8 or 9×9 pan be best?
Yes, Kathleen, I think it should work. I’d suggest an 8 x 8 pan. Baking time may be slightly longer so keep a close eye on it. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it this way!
Hands down, the best strawberry shortcake I have ever made. My boyfriend loved it so much, he had the leftovers for breakfast the next day. 😀
Made this for friends and it was a hit!
I made these shortcakes and felt that 3T of cornstarch was too much and I also would cut down on the salt.
By far the most incredible Strawberry Shortcake I’ve ever had let alone made myself. The biscuits are truly out of this world amazing. Thank you again for a winner! Love your cookbook too BTW! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
❤️
I made these a few weeks ago and they were so good I am making them again for company- but I want to double the recipe. Any adjustments to the measurements I should make other than doubling? Thanks. Your website and cookbook are my go to’s!
Glad you like them, Chithra! Just double everything 🙂
Jenn, this recipe is out of this world! What a decadent way to eat strawberries. The biscuits are so light and fluffy! A shortcut: I just used the aerosol whipped cream which made prepping these much quicker. My question is, have you tried to make these a little smaller? They were so big they served as our entire dinner last night, ha ha!
So glad you enjoyed these, Kristin! I haven’t made them smaller, but I think you definitely could get away with it.
I have White Lily flour on hand. If I want to use that in your recipe, can I just delete the cornstarch and leave everything else as is?
Hi Jane, It should work but I would replace the cornstarch with more flour. I’d love to know how they turn out!
Can i use Kefir in place of Buttermilk? I just happen to have it in my fridge.
I think it should work, Larisa — enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
LOVE this recipe! I made them last year for an afternoon BBQ and they were a Hit! I want to make them again for a special dinner guest, but he can’t eat strawberries because of the seeds…Bummer! What other fruit would you suggest?
Thanks!
Hi Janice, I think raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries would be wonderful here.
Raspberry jam in strawberry shortcake!!! What a travesty!!! Sandra
I didn’t have raspberry jam on hand, just strawberry jam, so I used that, and it came out great.
This is yummy. I did not have raspberry preserves so used Strawberry Simply Fruit. To my strawberries I added 2T confectioners sugar and 2T light brown sugar (not packed). Looking forward to trying it with raspberry. Halved the biscuit recipe and made the buttermilk with skim milk because it was all I had. It took only 5T of the skim milk since I was halving the recipe and had to use skim. They were tender and flaky and I would definitely make again.
Was wondering if anyone has rolled these out and used a biscuit cutter? I might want to try it to have as a breakfast sandwich with egg some morning.
Another great recipe! You can whip the cream and bake the biscuits several hours before you need to serve them. (I use Rumford Baking Powder, which reacts with water, so I don’t mix the dough up the night before.) The strawberry mixture will hold, too. The only change I made was to make nine biscuits instead of eight; they baked for 14 minutes. The biscuits were delicious.
Hi Jenn!
Can this whipped cream recipe work as a frosting?
Thanks!
Hi Nels, it’s truly a whipped cream so if you want to top something with whipped cream, it will work, but if you want a white frosting, you could try my cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting.
Hi Jenn!
Is it possible to use the whipped cream as a frosting? I cant seem to find a whipped cream frosting recipe on the site!
Hi Nels, What type of cake are you looking to frost?
I don’t know how you do it but everything on this website is so easy and delicious! I halved the recipe for these shortcakes and sometimes you lose the integrity of the recipe but they came out perfect! They were ready to pop into the oven in less than 15 minutes and only needed 12 minutes in the oven (probably because of the quantity). I really like the idea of not needing any kitchen gadgets; just good old fashion elbow grease to crumble the butter. Perfection – my boyfriend inhaled one and was ready for seconds in no time at all! Thanks =)
I made these for the 4th of July and they were fantastic! The biscuits were light and just sweet and the berries and whipped cream were delicious.
The perfect summer dessert!
Hi, Jenn ~
I love your recipe. I made it this morning in less than 2 hours. The biscuit was very easy – and yummy. We’re used to the traditional biscuit that is softer, and flatter. But I liked your ‘craggy’ surface biscuits because the crunchy edges are tasty and fun. Also liked the strawberries with the jam. Next go-round I’ll double it all so we can have more abundant strawberries and bigger or extra biscuits! Thanks for sharing!!! Lisa from Indianapolis (native of Wilmington, DE). GREAT food blog, Jenn!
So happy you enjoyed, Lisa! 🙂
What a real summer treat! Thanks!
Do you recommend baking the biscuits the night before or prepping the dough and baking the biscuits a couple of hours before a party? Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, I’d prep the dough and form the biscuits ahead (and you could do this several days ahead), freeze, then bake directly from the freezer a couple hours before your party. They’ll take a few min. longer in the oven. Hope that helps!
Made these and they are incredible! Making again for a bbq so I need to double the recipe-can I bake all at once with two trays one on each shelf or do I need to bake one tray at a time?
Love your recipes! I recently bought your cookbook too!
Hi Natasha, You can bake two trays at once; just switch them top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking so that they cook evenly. Glad you enjoy the recipes!
My whole family loved this recipe. This was my first time making strawberry shortcake and it was a hit!
Another fab recipe that is easy to folllow. Thank you.