Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

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Strawberry Shortcake is a classic summer dessert for a reason: it’s easy to make, fun to eat, and totally irresistible! In this simple recipe, homemade shortcake biscuits are stuffed with juicy strawberries and homemade whipped cream. You have to make it!

A Traditional Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Even though strawberries are usually best during the spring and summer, we’ve been getting great strawberries for months around here. A little nutty, but also wonderful! Strawberries are easily one of the hubs and I’s favorites, so naturally the twins are big fans too. We are constantly buying them and boy do they smell good!

And with so many delicious strawberries around, strawberry shortcake is a must! The boys don’t really eat things like shortcake or biscuits yet, but when they start, these will be a regular for us during the summers. How can you beat fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and fluffy biscuits?! Especially when they are so simple to put together.

This traditional strawberry shortcake recipe is just like grandma used to make. It’s comprised of three simple components: shortcake biscuits made from scratch, fresh strawberries, and homemade whipped cream.

Why You’ll Love This Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake is one of my absolute favorite summer desserts. Here’s why I think you’ll fall in love with it too:

• Super sweet. Made with fresh, ripe strawberries, vanilla, and homemade whipped cream, this strawberry shortcake will instantly cure your sugar cravings.
• Perfect texture. You can find a lot of variation between shortcake/biscuit recipes, so let’s talk about this one a little bit. There’s the more cakey shortcakes and the true biscuit shortcakes. I personally like a little bit of a combo. I don’t want something so cakey that it’s not a biscuit, but I also don’t want something so like a biscuit that it doesn’t feel like dessert. Now, if you’re really into a more cakey biscuit, you could add a little more cream and get there, but I find that these are just right.
• An easy make ahead dessert. The biscuits keep for 3-4 days, so this is a great make ahead summer dessert for when there is very hot weather on the horizon. You can make the biscuits a day ahead of time, and then all you have to do later is prep the strawberries and the whipped cream – neither of which require the oven! (For another refreshing summer dessert, try this Strawberry Shortcake Icebox Cake!)
• Crowd-pleaser. One of the best things about this dessert is that assembly is so easy and everyone can make their own however they like. Just put out the biscuits, berries and whipped cream and let everyone go to town!

Recipe Ingredients

Don’t let the size of this list scare you – most of these ingredients are baking basics that are likely already in your pantry! For the precise quantities and instructions, check out the recipe card below.

For the Shortcake & the Strawberries

• Strawberries – Fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced, are my go-to, but thawed frozen strawberries can work, too.
• Sugar – This recipe calls for white granulated sugar.
• Flour – All-purpose flour will work just fine!
• Baking Powder – To give the biscuits some lift.
• Salt – To balance out/enhance the sweetness.
• Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you want to use salted butter, you can just omit the extra salt.
• Heavy Whipping Cream – You can also substitute with heavy cream.
• Eggs – To bind all of the ingredients together.
• Vanilla Extract – Pure vanilla extract provides the best flavor.
• Coarse Sugar – For a little extra (optional) crunch!

For the Whipped Cream

• Heavy Whipping Cream – Make sure it is cold before you begin.
• Powdered Sugar – Sift out any clumps ahead of time to make sure everything comes together smoothly!
• Vanilla Extract – Again, pure vanilla extract is recommended.

How to Make Strawberry Shortcake

This strawberry shortcake recipe is so easy to prepare. It’s a great candidate for kids helping in the kitchen, though maybe get a few extra strawberries because they will definitely be sampling as they go! Here’s how to make strawberry shortcake from scratch:

• Prepare the strawberries. To prepare the strawberries, toss them with the sugar to evenly coat each one. Then, let them sit for at least 2 hours to draw out the juices.
• Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt, and whisk them together.
• Add the butter. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until course crumbs are formed. The largest butter pieces should be about the size of small peas.
• Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Then, pour the cream mixture over the flour mixture and stir everything until it just starts to come together. Do not over-mix, the mixture should still be crumbly.
• Prepare the biscuit dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring it all together to form a ball. Gently flatten it out and then fold it in thirds, folding the left side over onto the middle, then the right side over onto the middle. Lightly pat it back out into a square about 1 inch thick.
• Using a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather together the scraps, fold them together once, and pat the dough back into a square to cut out the remaining biscuits. You should be able to get 7-9 biscuits. Dip the biscuit cutter into flour between cuts, to keep it from sticking. When cutting out the biscuits, press straight down. Do not twist.
• Bake the biscuits. Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet at least 2 1/2 inches apart. Combine the other egg and 1 tablespoon of cream, and brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg wash. Sprinkle the tops with some coarse sugar. Then, bake the biscuits for 17-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
• Let the biscuits cool. Remove the biscuits from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack. Serve them warm, or at room temperature.
• Make the whipped cream. When ready to serve, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until medium to stiff peaks form.
• Assemble the biscuits. Cut the biscuits in half horizontally, then fill them with strawberries and their juices and the whipped cream.

Tips for Success

Whew, we’re almost there! I have just a few more tips to share when it comes to making these shortcake biscuits:

• Don’t over-mix the biscuit dough. Don’t over-mix the dough or you’ll end up with tough, flat biscuits.
• Carefully cut out the biscuits. When cutting them out, press straight down and don’t twist the cutter. Twisting will mess up the layers and they’ll bake/rise funky.
• Use flour to ensure that the biscuit cutter doesn’t stick to the dough. Dip the cutter in some flour before cutting each one out to prevent sticking.
• For cakey biscuits. For a more cakey version of the biscuit, add 1/4 cup of additional cream to the biscuits. Be aware that they will spread more when baked.

Serving Suggestions

Classic strawberry shortcake is pretty great as-is, but there are a few things you could add on the side if you like!

• Ice cream. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would go perfectly with these sweet biscuits.
• More fresh fruit. Add in some more fresh strawberries, plus raspberries, blueberries, or whatever else sounds good to you!
• Hot fudge. Why not, right? Drizzle some hot fudge over the top of your homemade whipped cream for the ultimate sweet treat.

How to Store Strawberry Shortcake

If you have leftover biscuits and strawberries, you’ll want to store each component separately. Here’s how to do that:

• For the biscuits. Store the shortcake biscuits in an airtight container. They will keep on the counter at room temperature for 3-4 days.
• For the strawberries. Store the strawberries in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will also keep for 3-4 days. If you run out of shortcake biscuits and still have some macerated strawberries to use, they are amazing mixed into yogurt or spooned on top of ice cream.

The whipped cream needs to be used when it is made, so unfortunately you can’t store whipped cream for later.

Can I Freeze This Recipe?

You can definitely freeze the shortcake biscuits. Keep them in an airtight container, freeze them for up to a month, and then thaw them overnight in the fridge before letting them come to room temperature when you’re ready to enjoy them again.

More Strawberry Desserts

If you’re like me and you love all things strawberries, check out some of these other sweet strawberry cake recipes!

• Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
• Easy Strawberry Cheesecake
• Strawberry Shortcake Cake

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This recipe was modified from Martha Stewart.