There’s something undeniably delightful about a classic strawberry shortcake. This strawberry shortcake recipe is made up of tender, crumbly shortcake biscuits, luscious layers of sweet strawberries, and fluffy whipped cream – YUM! They’re the perfect spring and summer dessert, never fail to impress and are super easy to make.
What is a Strawberry Shortcake?
Strawberry shortcake is a classic spring/summer dessert made with layers of shortcake biscuits, fresh strawberries (you can also use other berries like blueberries, raspberries or blackberries!), and whipped cream.
The shortcake component is a sweet, crumbly biscuit that has a wonderul buttery flavor and is soft – almost like a scone. This is the “cake” part of the dessert.
The shortcake is filled with fresh strawberries that are macerated (which basically means they’re coated in sugar to help release their juices) and lightly sweetened, fluffy whipped cream.
What is the Difference Between Cake and Shortcake?
The main difference between cake and shortcake lies in their texture.
Cakes are generally light and fluffy, (like my fluffy vanilla or lemon cake) made with a mix of flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking powder or soda, and other flavorings or fillings. Cakes are often layered, iced, and decorated for special occasions. The texture can vary from airy and soft to dense and moist, depending on the recipe.
Shortcake on the other hand refers to a specific type of cake that’s more like a biscuit or scone. It’s often crumbly, with a firmer texture, and typically less sweet than standard cake. The “short” in shortcake refers to the inclusion of a significant amount of fat, such as butter or shortening, which makes it tender and crumbly.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake
This strawberry shortcake recipe is quick and easy to put together!
Macerated Strawberries
Begin by preparing the strawberries. Remove the tops of the strawberries and slice them in thirds, longways.
Combine them with white sugar and stir until well combined. Set aside.
Shortcake Biscuits
Preheat oven to 220 °C (425°F) conventional and line a sheet tray with parchment paper. If using a convection oven bake at 200C or 390F. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
Add in the cold, cubed butter, and using your fingers (you can use a pastry cutter too) press the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with small bits of butter scattered throughout. The dry ingredients should become a pale yellow color. This technique will help to achieve a more flaky layers for the biscuit.
Add in the buttermilk and using fork or rubber spatula, fluff the mixture together so that you end up with a shaggy dough. It’s important not to overmix, so as soon as your mixture resembles a shaggy dough stop there.
Turn the biscuit dough out onto a floured surface, and using lightly floured hands, begin to bring the dough together until you form a rectangle that is ¾ of an inch high. Do not overwork or overmix the dough.
Coat the ends of a 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter or glass in flour, and use it to cut out the biscuits. Do not twist when cutting out the biscuits, just push straight down. Bring together any scraps and cut more biscuits out. You should end up with about 7 biscuits. You can also make the biscuits by hand by simply making equal sized balls out of the dough, and then pressing them down gently just to give them a slightly flat top.
Place the biscuits onto the prepared tray closely together – about ½ an inch apart. Sprinkle the tops with white granulated sugar and bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Allow to cool on the tray for 20 minutes before assembling. While the bisuits are cooling prepare the whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
In a bowl combine heavy whipping cream. sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer (if using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment) on a medium speed, whip until you reach medium-stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip.
Assembly
Using a serrated knife, cut a biscuit in half. Place the bottom half down and generously cover with strawberries including the juice they are soaking in. Top with a generous amount of whipped cream and place the top half of the biscuit on top.
Cover with more whipped cream, and finish off with more strawberries (and strawberry sauce) on top. Serve immediately (see note 5 for freezing instructions).
How to Store Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry shortcake is best served right after its assembled. If you’re making the dessert ahead of time or have leftovers, it’s best to store the components separately to maintain their texture. Keep the shortcake in a sealed container at room temperature, and store the strawberries (with their juices) and whipped cream in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Before serving, you can reheat the biscuits slightly in the microwave (5-10 seconds) to soften them up. Add strawberries and whipped cream just before serving.
If you want to store shortcakes for a longer period, you can freeze the unbaked shortcakes. It can be frozen for several weeks to a couple of months.
Easy Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Macerated Strawberries
- 3 cups (600 g) strawberries - tops removed and sliced (see note 1).
- ¼ cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
Shortcake Biscuits
- 2¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp (38 g) white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (165 g) unsalted butter - cold and cubed into small 1/4 inch cubes (see note 3).
- ¾ cup (170 g) buttermilk - cold. You can use a homemade version too.
- Extra white sugar for sprinkling on top of the biscuits - about 1/2 tbsp.
Whipped Cream
- 1½ cups (360 g) heavy cream - cold
- 1½ tbsp white granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract/essence - optional
Instructions
Macerated Strawberries
- Remove the tops of the strawberries and slice them in thirds, longways. Combine them with the white sugar and stir until well combined. Set aside.
Shortcake Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 220 °C (425°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
- Add in the cold, cubed butter, and using your fingers press the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with small bits of butter scattered throughout. The dry ingredients should become a pale yellow color.
- Add in the buttermilk and using a fork, fluff the mixture together so that you end up with a shaggy dough. It's important not to overmix, so as soon as your mixture resembles a shaggy dough stop there.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and using lightly floured hands, begin to bring the dough together until you form a rectangle that is ¾ of an inch high. Do not overwork or overmix the dough.
- Coat the ends of a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter or glass (that has a thin lip - a thick lip won't work well) in flour, and use it to cut out the biscuits. Do not twist when cutting out the biscuits, just push straight down. Bring together any excess dough and cut more biscuits out. You should end up with about 7 biscuits (see note 4 if you want to do this step by hand).
- Place the biscuits onto the prepared tray closely together - about ½ an inch apart and sprinkle the tops with white granulated sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. For best results, the dough needs to be cold before baking, so if you feel the butter has softened up a bit while preparing the dough, then freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
- Allow to cool on the tray for 20 minutes before assembling. While the bisuits are cooling prepare the whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium speed, whip until you reach medium-stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip.
Assembly
- Using a serrated knife, cut a biscuit in half. Place the bottom half down and generously cover with strawberries including the juice they are soaking in. Top with a generous amount of whipped cream and place the top half of the biscuit on top.
- Cover with more whipped cream, and finish off with more strawberries (and strawberry sauce) on top. Serve immediately (see note 5 for storing/freezing instructions).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
10 Comments
I tried making this for the first time and it was delicious. The strawberry shortcakes are incredibly soft and just melt in your mouth. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Thanks so much for the feedback Ishika! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I made these for the first time and oh my god, they are delicious. Super soft and fluffy. They have the perfect amount of sweetness. Thank you so much for this recipe.
So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Ishika 😀
Since it’s National Strawberry Shortcake Day, I decided to make some for the family. I usually make my biscuits with Bisquick but didn’t have any so I gave this recipe a shot. The strawberries were great, but the biscuits got kind of hard and crumbly. I’m going to guess it was operater error considering I’ve never made any kind of biscuits from scratch before. They were still really tasty and we added a little bit of milk to the bowl and it softened them up nicely. I’m going to give it another go once the strawberry patch really starts cranking them out because the taste was there, I just need to perfect my technique. Thanks for posting!!
Hi Jenn! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the taste overall, but sorry to hear the biscuits came out hard and crumbly! It sounds like perhaps the biscuits were overbaked, so you can try reducing the cook time and see if that helps 🙂
I would also recommend using the gram measurements for best results to ensure there isn’t too much flour in the biscuits which can make them hard 🙂
Hope that helps for next time!
Can you use frozen strawberries when you’re making the strawberry shortcake recipe?
Hi Sandi! 🙂 Unfortunately for this recipe it is best to use fresh strawberries as frozen strawberries won’t be able to hold their shape as well as fresh strawberries. Alternatively, you could make a strawberry jam using frozen strawberries instead – it’ll still taste great but you just won’t get that extra texture from the fresh strawberries 🙂
You can use my raspberry jam recipe and substitute the raspberries with 2 cups or so of strawberries and adjust the sweetness/sourness at the end based on what you prefer 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Love, love your website and I enjoy baking with you!
Thank you so much for explaining step by step instructions.
Caroline
Thank you so much Caroline! 😀 So happy to hear you’re finding the instructions helpful and enjoying the recipes – really appreciate the feedback 🙂