Strawberry Shortcake

Name: Strawberry Shortcake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour ((480g)); ¼ cup granulated sugar ((50g)); 1 tablespoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup cold unsalted butter (cubed (226g)); 1¼ cups cold buttermilk ((300mL)); 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons cold heavy cream (for brushing on top); 1½ pounds strawberries (hulled and sliced (675g)); ⅓ cup sugar ((67g)); 2 cups heavy whipping cream ((480ml)); ¼ cup granulated sugar ((50g)); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Strawberry shortcake is a beloved warm weather treat composed of a melt-in-your-mouth flaky biscuit topped with a generous dollop of cloud-like whipped cream and sweetened fresh strawberries. It’s the best way to take advantage of the season’s bounty of fresh berries! My strawberry shortcake recipe is so easy to make from scratch, you’ll never buy it from a store again.

While strawberry shortcake doesn’t need to be made only with biscuits, and can be made with angel food cake, white cake, or pound cake, I prefer the buttery, tender quality of biscuits for this dessert. If you’re looking for more dessert recipes, you need to try my cream puffs, mini cheesecakes, or strawberry tart.

What You Need to Make this Recipe

Ingredients needed to make strawberry shortcakes.

Sugar — you need granulated sugar, also called white sugar, to add a little sweetness to the biscuits and to stir with the strawberries.

Leavening — a combination of baking powder and baking soda helps the sweet biscuits rise for fluffy shortcakes.

Butter — cold butter is a must for this recipe! It produces the iconic flaky texture in biscuits.

Buttermilk — use whole or full-fat buttermilk for the most tender shortcakes. If you don’t want to buy an entire carton of buttermilk, I share a quick recipe in the FAQ section for how to make buttermilk at home.

Egg — a large egg helps give the biscuit structure and richness.

Vanilla — delicately scenting the biscuits with vanilla extract is what really turns these biscuits into a delicious dessert treat.

Macerated strawberries — macerating strawberries simply means mixing sliced fresh strawberries with sugar and leaving them to marinate for a while. The sugar sweetens the berries and helps to draw out the berry juices.

Homemade whipped cream — whipped cream is so easy to make at home with cold heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.

How to Make Strawberry Shortcake

Set of two photos showing sugar added to strawberries and combining dry ingredients in a bowl with butter.

1. Make the macerated strawberries by placing them in a bowl and sprinkling them with sugar. Mix and cover and place the bowl in the fridge so the juice can be drawn out of the berries while you bake the biscuits.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and set aside for now. Add the cubed unsalted butter to the flour mixture and work it in with your hands or a pastry cutter until the butter is in small, crumbly pieces, about the size of peas.

Set of two photos showing wet ingredients added to dry and then flattening the dough.

3. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and mix using a fork or spatula. A shaggy dough will form.

4. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface sprinkled with flour to prevent sticking. Work the dough just until it holds together and pat it down to 1-inch thickness.

Set of two photos showing a biscuit cutter cutting out a piece of dough and then brushing the top with cream.

5. Use a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter to cut out 8 shortcake biscuits. You can reform the scraps to make more shortcakes if you want.

6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar for a crunchy sugar topping, if desired. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Cool the homemade biscuits on the baking sheet for at least 20 minutes.

Set of two photos showing whipped cream being made and a strawberry shortcake being assembled.

7. Make the whipped cream by beating the cold heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Chill the homemade whipped cream until ready to serve.

8. Assemble each strawberry shortcake. Split the biscuits in half. Add a dollop of whipped cream and a pile of juicy strawberries to the bottom half of the biscuit. Place the top half of the biscuit on top of that, pile with more whipped cream and strawberries, and serve immediately.

Three plates of strawberry shortcakes beside a bowl of strawberries with one plate in focus.

Pro Tips for Making this Recipe

Mix the strawberries and sugar at the very beginning. This will give the sugar time to draw the liquid out of the berries, making them extra juicy.
Use cold cubed butter. You need cold butter to make the biscuit dough, so the butter melts and steams while the biscuits bake, which will give you perfectly flaky biscuits. If your kitchen is warm, cut the butter into cubes and freeze it for 10 minutes before working it into the flour.
You can cut the butter into the dough using a food processor, if desired. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine, then add the butter. Pulse 3 or 4 times just to break down the butter pieces. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and pulse a few more times just until the dough starts to get shaggy (it will still resemble large coarse crumbs). Turn it out on the counter and work it together into a single ball as directed in the recipe.
For taller biscuits: Place the biscuits close to each other on the baking sheet, but not touching. Leaving about an inch between them is perfect. Doing so actually helps them rise taller during baking, versus if you spread them out farther apart.
Biscuit cutter tip: Press straight down with the cutter and don’t twist. Twisting seals the edge and prevents the shortcake from rising well.

A strawberry short cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are macerated strawberries?

It might sound complicated, but macerated strawberries are simply sliced strawberries mixed with sugar and left to marinate so the sugar can both sweeten the berries and draw out their liquid.

How to make buttermilk at home

Buttermilk is so easy to make at home with 2 ingredients, so you don’t need to run to the store to buy a carton! To make buttermilk, add a cup of whole milk to a jar along with a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir, set aside for 10 minutes, and voila! The homemade buttermilk is ready to make strawberry shortcakes.

Can you make it ahead of time?

The macerated strawberries and biscuits can be prepared in advance. You can mix the sugar and strawberries up to a night in advance and refrigerate until you’re ready to use them. The biscuits can be baked up to 3 days ahead of time. Simply store them in an airtight container at room temperature. I recommend whipping the cream right when you need it. While whipped cream will keep in the refrigerator for 2 days, it will deflate and begin to yellow in that time. Assemble your strawberry shortcake right before serving so the biscuits do not become soggy.

Can you freeze it?

Once assembled, strawberry shortcakes should be enjoyed immediately. If you need to, you can freeze leftover biscuits. Wrap them tightly (individually) in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

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