Strawberry shortcake is the perfect way to use up the strawberries in your refrigerator! You’ll love the ultra-flaky biscuit, velvety whipped cream, and sweet-tangy strawberries.
Place strawberries in a large bowl then sprinkle with sugar, mix, cover and refrigerate while the biscuits bake and cool.
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 the flour mixture and mix using a fork or spatula until a shaggy dough starts to form.
Dump the dough out onto a clean surface generously sprinkled with flour. Gently work the dough just until it holds together into a single mass, then pat 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.) Reform the scraps to cut moreshortcakes, if needed.
Place the biscuits on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush the tops, not sides, with cream and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Cool the cakes on the pan for at least 20 minutes.
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-highspeed until soft peaks form. Chill until ready to serve.
For the Assembly:
To serve, split the biscuits in half, top the bottom half with a dollop of whipped cream and a pile of strawberries. Place the other biscuit half on top and finish with another dollop of whipped cream and more strawberries. Serve immediately.
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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.
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.