You’ll love this classic, easy Strawberry Shortcake Recipe. The homemade shortcake biscuits are impressively soft and layered with juicy strawberries and whipped cream.
We love strawberry recipes that use plenty of strawberries, like our No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake, and this crowd-pleasing Strawberry Pretzel Salad. Strawberry shortcakes are one of the most iconic strawberry desserts, and it does not disappoint.
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Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
This traditional strawberry shortcake recipe comes together quickly and it’s made completely from scratch, which is perfect for summer because you don’t have to spend a ton of time in the kitchen making it. Just like Panna Cotta, this is completely homemade but feels like a shortcut dessert.
Shortcakes are a great party dessert because you can set them up buffet-style and let guests build their own. They are best eaten fresh, but thankfully, they are super easy to bake and assemble.
Strawberry Shortcakes Video
See how simple it is to whip up this delicious recipe. Natasha gives you all the tips to make this classic Strawberry Shortcake one of your favorite summer desserts!
What is a Strawberry Shortcake?
Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake is a stacked dessert with buttery homemade biscuits, strawberries macerated (juiced up) in sugar, and lightly sweetened soft whipped cream. The earliest recipe for strawberry shortcake dates back to the 1500s. It is popularly made with strawberries, but you can substitute them with other berries or sliced stone fruit like peaches (see our suggestions below!).
Homemade biscuits are so easy to make, and if you haven’t tried them, you are in for a treat! They exceed store-bought ‘bisquick’ in taste and quality.
Ingredients
Strawberry shortcake recipes include three parts: buttery, fluffy homemade biscuit, macerated strawberries, and whipped cream. These three ingredients are so easy to make, but together, they taste out of this world!
Substitutions
While this classic dessert is perfect just as written, try these swaps for a quick twist on the traditional dish.
- Swap the Fruit – Fresh blueberries, raspberries, diced mangos, peaches or our easy Cherry Sauce would taste great in place of the strawberries. Or for a fall twist, try Sauteed Apples and Caramel Sauce.
- Flavored Cream – Fold citrus zest into the whipped cream for a fresh flavor twist
- Garnish – Add a few basil leaves for a pretty and elevated presentation.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcakes
This classic strawberry shortcake recipe is best when the elements are made from scratch–and it’s just so easy! It starts with homemade biscuits and what sets these apart from our classic Biscuits is a teensy bit of vanilla and a little more sugar since these are meant to be served as a dessert.
Step 1: Make the Biscuits
- Sift together the dry ingredients with a sieve: flour, baking powder, sugar and salt
- Cut in the Butter – Add COLD butter into dry ingredients until coarse crumbs form. You can use a pastry cutter or a food processor.
- Combine milk, cream, and vanilla and drizzle over flour mixture. Mix until it starts coming together.
- Transfer to a floured surface, pat into a rectangle, fold in half, and repeat.
- Cover with a tea towel and rest 30 minutes at room temperature then pat into a 5″x10″ rectangle (3/4″ tall). Use a 2 1/2″ round cookie cutter or shark knife to cut out biscuits and bake.
Pro Tip:
For the best-rising biscuits, dip the biscuit cutter into flour with every biscuit you cut and push the cutter STRAIGHT DOWN without twisting.
Step 2: Macerate Strawberries
Mix the sliced strawberries with sugar while your dough is resting. This allows the strawberries to macerate and juice up in the refrigerator, forming a natural strawberry syrup that is so good soaked into the biscuits.
Step 3: Make Whipped Cream
In a cold mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.
Step 4: Serve Individual Strawberry Shortcakes
Slice the biscuit using a fork to pierce around the center, then spoon macerated strawberries over the base, followed by sweetened whipped cream. Cover with the top of the biscuit the spoon on more whipped cream and strawberries.
Serving a crowd? You can also lay out a tray of biscuits, a bowl of strawberries, and a dish of whipped cream allowing guests to serve themselves buffet-style.
Make-Ahead
To make it simple to serve this dessert to a crowd, you can make each element ahead.
- Make the biscuits a day or two ahead, or make and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Stir the strawberries with the sugar and store the mixture in the fridge for up to a day ahead.
- Whipped cream stays fresh for a few hours in the fridge. Make it before the party leaving the cream with slightly softer peaks, and then finish whipping to soft peaks right before serving.
Classic Strawberry Shortcake is such a beautiful and fun dessert to serve at your next gathering. The taste of homemade biscuits, macerated strawberries, and homemade whipped cream is worth every moment it takes to make them from scratch.
More Easy Strawberry Recipes
We always have a ton of sweet, delicious strawberries during strawberry season. After you try this Strawberry Shortcake Recipe, treat yourself to these other delicious strawberry recipes!
Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
You’ll love this easy, classic Strawberry Shortcake Recipe! The shortcake biscuits are impressively soft and layered with juicy sweet strawberries and fresh whipped cream.
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How to Make Biscuits
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients then sift together. Add 5 Tbsp diced cold butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with a food processor until it resembles course crumbs.
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Stir together 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, and 1/2 tsp vanilla and pour over flour mixture. Fold together with wooden spoon until dough starts coming together then turn out onto a well-floured surface.
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Pat into a rectangle. Fold in half and pat down slightly into another rectangle. Fold in half a second time and pat down into a rectangle. Cover with a tea towel and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature (65˚-75˚F).
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Preheat the oven to 425˚and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently pat into a 5” x 10” rectangle (3/4” thickness). Use a floured 2 1/2″ round cutter to cut out 8 rounds. Dip in flour with each cut and push straight down into the dough without twisting the cutter.
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Transfer rounds to lined baking sheet, 1/2” apart and Bake at 425˚F for 13-15 minutes or until golden on top. Cool biscuits on a rack for 10 minutes before assembling.
How to Assemble Strawberry Shortcakes
- Make the biscuits 2-3 days ahead if stored in an airtight container on the counter, or in the freezer for 3 months.
- Strawberries can be mixed with sugar and stored in the fridge for 24 hours.
- You can make the whipped cream a few hours ahead by whipping the cream slightly less than soft peaks. Cover and store in the refrigerator, and then finish whipping just before serving.
Serving suggestion: Assemble each plate for guests to enjoy, or serve buffet-style, allowing each guest to build their own plate.
408kcal Calories43g Carbs5g Protein25g Fat
Nutrition Facts
Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
