Strawberry shortcake is a classic dessert for good reasons! 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 simple yet so delicious. I think it’s one of the best ways 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 is best eaten right when it’s assembled for the best flavor and texture, you can make parts of it in advance to save a little time. I have all the details in the Make-Ahead Tips section! And if you’re looking for more dessert recipes, try my cream puffs, mini cheesecakes, or strawberry tart.
Ingredients
Macerated Strawberries — macerating strawberries simply involves 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 for a syrupy fruit topping.
Flour — you need 4 cups of all-purpose flour for the buttermilk biscuits.
Sugar — granulated sugar, also called white sugar, adds a little sweetness to the biscuit recipe and is used for making the strawberry topping.
Leavening — a combination of baking powder and baking soda helps the sweet biscuits rise for fluffy shortcakes.
Unsalted Butter and Salt — cold unsalted butter is a must for this recipe! It produces the iconic flaky texture in biscuits. Adding salt separately ensures they have the perfect flavor.
Buttermilk — use full-fat buttermilk for the most tender shortcakes. If you don’t have 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!
Heavy cream — brushing the tops of the biscuits with heavy cream helps the biscuits achieve a lovely golden brown color.
Whipped cream — whipped cream is so easy to make from scratch with cold, heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake
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. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla and set aside. 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.
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.
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. Place the biscuits about 1 inch apart on a large prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with sugar for a crunchy topping, if desired. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and cool completely.
7. Make the whipped cream by beating the cold heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in an electric mixer (hand mixer) or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
8. Assemble each strawberry shortcake. Split the biscuits in half. Add a dollop of whipped cream and a pile of juicy berries 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.
Use Cold Butter For The Best Shortcakes
You need cold butter to make the biscuit dough. 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 so it is very cold when you start.
Make-Ahead Tips
- Make and freeze unbaked biscuits: Once the biscuits are cut out, place them on a lined baking sheet and freeze until they are solid, about 2 hours. Either tightly wrap the tray in several layers of plastic wrap or place the biscuits in an airtight freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the biscuits from frozen as directed, adding a few extra minutes to the overall baking time.
- Freeze baked biscuits: Once the biscuits have cooled completely, wrap each one in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Macerate the strawberries: You can mix the sugar and strawberries up to 24 hours in advance and store them in the refrigerator. I recommend adding a little squeeze of lemon juice to the strawberries to help keep them fresh for several hours.
Pro Tips For The Best Strawberry Shortcakes
- 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.
- 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 and pulse to combine. Then add the cubed 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 be crumbly). 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 1 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 biscuits from rising well.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you can use whole milk instead of buttermilk to make the biscuits, I do think buttermilk makes the biscuits extra tender and flavorful. If you don’t want to buy a whole carton of buttermilk and you have whole milk on hand, you can make an easy substitute with just 2 ingredients.
To make homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup of whole milk along with a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir, set aside for 10 minutes, and voila! The buttermilk substitute is ready!
Strawberry shortcake is best with fresh strawberries, but you can use frozen strawberries in a pinch. The berries will be quite soft once thawed and much juicier. I recommend thawing them first, draining off about half of the liquid, then adding the sugar.
Once assembled, strawberry shortcake should be enjoyed immediately. If you have leftovers, store the components separately. The strawberries and whipped cream must be refrigerated. The macerated berries will keep for about 24 hours. And while whipped cream will keep for 2 days, it will deflate and begin to yellow in that time. Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this strawberry shortcake recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Pastry cutter (optional)
- Baking Sheet
- Biscuit or cookie cutter
Ingredients
For the Macerated Strawberries:
- 1½ pounds strawberries hulled and sliced (675g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67g)
For the Biscuits:
- 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
For the Whipped Cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (480ml)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Macerated Strawberries:
- Place strawberries in a large bowl then sprinkle with sugar, mix, cover and refrigerate while you make the biscuits for up to 24 hours.
For the Biscuits:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and vanilla and set aside.
- Add the butter to the dry mixture then work it in with your hands or a pastry cutter until the butter is in small pieces, about the size of peas.
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix using a fork or spatula until a shaggy dough starts to form.
- Dump the dough out onto a well floured surface. Gently work the dough just until it holds together into a single mass, then pat it down to 1-inch thickness. Use a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter to cut out 8 shortcakes. (Press straight down with the cutter and don’t twist; twisting seals the edge and prevents the shortcake from rising well.) Reroll the scraps to cut more shortcakes, if needed.
- Place the biscuits on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and cool completely.
For the Whipped Cream:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
For the Assembly:
- To serve, split the biscuits in half. Dollop the bottom half with whipped cream and top with a pile of strawberries. Place the other biscuit half on top and finish with another dollop of whipped cream and more strawberries. Serve immediately.
Notes
- 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.
- 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 and pulse to combine. Then add the cubed 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 be crumbly). 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 1 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 biscuits from rising well.
Spencer J Beck says
I made this short cake for my parents anniversary and they loved them.
Donna A Pollock says
Hey John
Thank you for this lovely recipe. I really think I like the Biscuits better with the egg in it. I have made them all my life without eggs but since trying your recipe, I will never make them again without eggs. I had a Lunch for some Ladies I go to Church with and they just loved this Shortcake, and so does my Family.
Nrk says
I tried this today and love how biscuits came out..very yummy
i used a big size apple instead of an egg..i am sure with egg it would have raised a bit more but happy with the results…i can eat just the biscuits all by it self 🙂
Thanks for the recipe..really like the way u make the video with lots of smiles and positive energy
Mahnoor Shafqaat says
I am making them for the second time! They are delicious! The biscuits are currently in oven and I can’t wait to have them for breakfast tomorrow morning! Just wish my biscuits would rise as much as yours! Love from Pakistan!
Clark Coleman says
So excited to make these today. Just bought the ingredients.
On a side note the recipe calls for butter in whipped cream but your video doesn’t show that being used.
I love all your videos, looking forward to making many of them. I have already invested in some of the baking tools you use.
jkanell says
THANK YOU! Removed that butter 🙂
Estela vargas says
Hola muy buenas tus recetas …Gracias
K says
love
Liv says
🙂
Yaz says
Your recipe looks amazing! The ingredients list does not state how much butter. Can you tell me what amount goes into the biscuit recipe?
John says
Hi Yaz — I updated the recipe. I apologize for the confusion. Best, John.
Adam Araiza says
How many eggs it mentions eggs but you don’t say how many
John K. says
Adam,
I used 1 large egg for this recipe!
John