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 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!

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.