Strawberry Shortcakes
Strawberry shortcakes are a delicious summertime dessert. Forget store-bought shortcakes, this fresh homemade strawberry shortcake recipe is super easy and takes very little time. You will not regret making these biscuits from scratch as they come together fast and bake up beautifully. They are a little sweet and are perfect for supporting some nice juicy strawberries and freshly whipped cream.
When I was growing up my mom used to make strawberry shortcakes fairly often. Then for some reason she just stopped, or we stopped asking for them. I love fresh berries of any kind but strawberries are my absolute favorite so I am always looking for new (or old) ways to serve them.
This retro inspired strawberry shortcake recipe will put a smile on your face and there is very little to feel guilty about. The biscuits are a little sweet but you can reduce the sweetness if you omit or reduce the sugar sprinkled on top. I however, think the sugar on top is what makes this dessert just sweet enough.
You can load it up with strawberries and cream, or just have a little. I must admit I have also been known to eat the biscuits without anything! They really are that good. But fresh strawberries, sweet biscuits and freshly whipped cream are a bite you won’t want to miss. They only take two ingredients (strawberries and sugar) for the topping and the biscuits come together quite quickly.
If you happen to have a cast iron skillet, I highly recommend using that to bake the biscuits in. This recipe will make enough for two skillet fulls (or one skillet and one small pan if you prefer to have them all done at once).
These strawberry shortcakes are a great dessert to feed a crowd. Just bake up the biscuits and let everyone load up their own shortcake to make it easy on the cook. Alternatively you can load them up and serve them to your guests (or family) especially if you’re worried you might run out of one topping or another.
These also can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a day, in case you want more the next day. I would bet they won’t last that long….they never do in my house!
Before you start baking the biscuits I recommend cleaning and chopping the strawberries and add the sugar to them so that they can macerate while you make and bake the biscuits. That way, the biscuits can be slightly warm when you serve them and the strawberries will be nice and juicy.
If you are looking for other delicious strawberry desserts then click here for my strawberry tiramisu recipe.
Strawberry Shortcakes
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet if you have it.
Ingredients
For the Strawberries and Whipped Cream
- 2 32 oz fresh strawberries 2 large containers to make 6 cups of cut strawberries
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract pure if possible
- 2 cups heavy cream
For the biscuits
- 2¾ cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine sea salt (regular table salt if you don't have sea salt)
- ¾ cup butter (I prefer salted, but unsalted can be used) cold and cubed
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup heavy cream or buttermilk for brushing the tops
- coarse or decorator sugar for sprinkling on the tops
Instructions
Macerate the strawberries
- Before you start making the biscuits I recommend that you get the strawberries macerating by adding ¼ cup of granulated sugar with the quartered strawberries (6 cups) into a bowl. Cover and put in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Make the biscuits
- Preheat your oven to 400°
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl or food processor, if using. Whisk or pulse to combine.
- Add the cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients and cut in with a pastry blender or pulse a few times until you get coarse crumbs.
- If using a food processor, pour the butter and dry ingredient mixture into a large bowl.
- Add the buttermilk onto the crumb mixture and fold everything together with a wooden spoon or large spatula until it starts to come together. Do not overwork it. The dough will be shaggy.
- Pour the dough and crumbles out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently bring it together. If it sticks to your hands, lightly flour them.
- Using a lightly floured rolling pin, or your hands, flatten the dough into a ¾" thick rectangle then fold one side into the center then repeat with the other side (you will have 3 layers). Turn the dough 90° and flatten to ¾" thick again then repeat the folding process, turn 90° and again flatten to ¾" thick rectangle.
- Cut the biscuits into 2.5 to 3" circles (do not twist your cutter).
- Re roll any scraps and cut out until you have 10-12 biscuits
- Arrange the biscuits into a lightly buttered (or oiled) cast iron skillet making sure they touch. If you are not using a cast iron skillet then put the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet once again, making sure they are touching as much as possible.
- Lightly brush the tops with either the heavy cream or buttermilk, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are a light golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. If you assemble them too warm, the whipped cream will melt.
Make the Whipped Cream
- Using a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla and whip on medium speed until peaks form (soft-medium).
- Slice the cooled biscuits in half horizontally, and layer them with whipped cream and strawberries.
- Serve immediately
Notes
