Strawberry Shortcake is the summer dessert that Lucia makes from scratch every single year the moment the local strawberries arrive at the market because she believes and has always believed that the difference between a store-bought sponge and a truly homemade flaky buttermilk biscuit is the difference between a pleasant snack and a genuinely extraordinary dessert.
She cuts the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, folds the dough three times to create layers, cuts the biscuits into rounds, and bakes them until they are golden on top and crisp at the edges and impossibly fluffy inside. The strawberries go in with sugar while the biscuits are still baking and by the time everything comes together at the table the berry juices have run into the most beautiful ruby syrup imaginable.
Strawberry Shortcake made completely from scratch at home is one of the most rewarding and joyful summer baking projects we know. Lightly sweetened buttermilk biscuits made with cold cubed butter and folded for flaky layers, fresh summer strawberries macerated in just enough sugar to release their glorious juices, and homemade whipped cream made from three simple ingredients that tastes so vastly superior to anything from a can that once you make it you will never go back. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful summer dessert recipes and easy seasonal treats from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
This Strawberry Shortcake recipe is the summer dessert that makes everyone at the table feel like they are eating something genuinely special and carefully made for them specifically, which is exactly the spirit of this dessert and exactly the reason it has endured as the most beloved summer treat for generations. The biscuits are the foundation that makes or breaks strawberry shortcake and these are genuinely exceptional.
The cold butter cut into the dry ingredients creates pockets of fat that steam during baking and produce layers. The folding technique borrowed from the world of laminated doughs creates even more distinct and beautiful flaky layers. The buttermilk adds a gentle tang and a tenderness that makes every bite of biscuit taste both rich and delicate simultaneously.
The macerated strawberries are the second element that elevates this homemade version so far above any store-bought shortcake experience. Sugar mixed with fresh chopped strawberries and allowed to sit for at least 30 minutes draws out the natural juices of the berries into a ruby-bright syrup that seeps down into the warm biscuit and the whipped cream in the most extraordinary way. This syrup is the soul of the dessert and it only comes from fresh strawberries given enough time to release it. Our Fluffy Strawberry Shortcake Puppy Chow makes a wonderfully playful and strawberry shortcake-inspired companion snack for a complete and joyful summer strawberry spread.
Ingredients Needed for This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
For the Strawberries:
- 6 to 7 cups Fresh Strawberries, quartered
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
For the Buttermilk Biscuits:
- 2¾ cups (345g) All-Purpose Flour, plus extra for hands and surface
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 tsp Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- ¾ cup (170g) Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup (240ml) Cold Buttermilk
- 2 tbsp Heavy Cream or Buttermilk for brushing
- Coarse Sugar for sprinkling
For the Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup (240ml) Heavy Cream, cold
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
How to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Begin with the strawberries as they need the most time. Combine the quartered fresh strawberries and quarter cup of granulated sugar in a large bowl and stir to coat every piece of fruit. Cover the bowl and set in the refrigerator until ready to use. A minimum of 30 minutes allows the sugar to draw out meaningful juice but a full hour produces the most vibrant and syrupy result.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl or food processor, whisk or pulse together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until fully combined. Add the cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or pulse the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible throughout. If using the food processor pour the crumb mixture into a large bowl at this point.
Pour the cold buttermilk over the dry crumb mixture. Fold everything together with a wide spatula until it just begins to come together into a shaggy and crumbly dough with some wet spots and some dry crumbles. Do not overwork the dough, cara mia. The moment it begins to hold together is the moment to stop folding.
Pour the dough and any loose crumbles onto a generously floured work surface. Using well-floured hands gently bring the mass together without kneading. Flatten into a three quarter inch thick rectangle with floured hands or a floured rolling pin. Fold one side into the center then the other side over it. Turn the dough 90 degrees. Flatten again to three quarter inch thickness. Fold again. Turn again. Flatten. Fold one final time. Flatten into the final three quarter inch thick rectangle. This folding process creates the beautiful distinct layers that make these biscuits so genuinely extraordinary.
Cut into 2.75 to 3-inch circles using a biscuit cutter pressing straight down without twisting. Arrange the cut biscuits close together in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or touching on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with the 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden on top.
While the biscuits bake, make the whipped cream. Beat the cold heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft to medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Keep refrigerated until assembly.
To assemble, slice each warm or cooled biscuit in half. Spoon the macerated strawberries and their accumulated syrup generously over the bottom half. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream. Place the top biscuit half at a slight angle over the cream. Add more strawberries and cream over the top. Serve immediately.
How to Serve This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Serve immediately after assembly while the biscuits are still warm and the contrast between the warm flaky biscuit and the cold macerated strawberries and cold whipped cream is at its most completely wonderful. Set up a strawberry shortcake bar at the center of the table with the warm biscuits in a basket, the strawberries in their bowl of syrup, and the whipped cream in a serving bowl alongside so everyone can assemble their own.
For a summer celebration, add a small scattering of fresh mint leaves or a few whole strawberries on the side of each assembled plate for a presentation that is completely beautiful. Our Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes make a beautifully bright and colorful companion for a complete and vibrant summer dessert spread alongside this classic shortcake.
How to Store This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Store each component separately for the best results. The baked biscuits store covered tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before using. The macerated strawberries store in the refrigerator covered for up to 1 day and actually develop more juice and more complex flavor overnight. The whipped cream stores covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Assembled shortcakes do not store well as the biscuits absorb moisture from the strawberries and whipped cream and become soft. Assemble only what will be eaten immediately.
Tips to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Cold butter is absolutely non-negotiable for these biscuits. The cold butter pieces that remain visible throughout the crumb mixture after cutting in are what create the steam pockets during baking that produce the flaky layers. Warm or room-temperature butter melts into the flour during mixing and produces a uniform and dense biscuit without any layered structure or flakiness. If your kitchen is warm, freeze the cubed butter for 15 minutes before beginning and freeze the flour for 30 minutes if possible.
Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing it into the dough. Twisting seals the cut edges of the biscuit and prevents the layers from separating and rising during baking. Press straight down firmly and lift straight up for biscuits that rise beautifully and show distinct and visible layering in the finished baked product.
Helpful Notes for This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Arranging the biscuits close together touching each other in the pan or skillet helps them rise taller than biscuits placed with space between them. When biscuits touch their neighbors they support each other during rising and direct more of their energy upward rather than spreading outward. This produces taller and more dramatically layered biscuits than the same dough baked with space around each one.
Local fresh-picked strawberries in peak season produce dramatically better results in this recipe than supermarket strawberries out of season. Local berries at their seasonal peak are smaller, sweeter, more fragrant, and release significantly more juice when macerated with sugar. If local strawberries are available even for a few weeks of the year they are genuinely worth seeking out for this specific recipe.
Variation of This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Maria made a version adding a handful of fresh blueberries to the macerated strawberries for a patriotic red white and blue shortcake that was completely beautiful and deeply delicious for a summer celebration. Teresa tried adding a teaspoon of lemon zest to the whipped cream during whipping and the fragrant citrus note it added to the cream against the sweet strawberries was a completely lovely and summery combination.
For an extra special version, spread a thin layer of strawberry jam on the cut face of each biscuit before adding the fresh strawberries for an additional concentrated strawberry flavor that makes the dessert taste even more deeply and completely strawberry-forward. Our Strawberry Crunch Salad makes a beautifully vibrant and fresh companion for a complete summer strawberry celebration spread alongside this classic shortcake.
FAQs About This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Can I substitute the buttermilk with regular milk?
Yes. Regular whole milk can be substituted for the buttermilk in the same quantity. The finished biscuits will be slightly less tangy and may not rise quite as tall since the natural acidity of buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to provide additional leavening. For the closest result to buttermilk without having buttermilk, add two teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup, fill to one cup with cold whole milk, stir, and allow to sit for 5 minutes before using.
How far ahead can I make the biscuits?
The baked biscuits can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored covered tightly at room temperature. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed completely before using. For the most freshly baked experience, make the biscuit dough ahead through the cutting stage and freeze the unbaked cut biscuits. Bake directly from frozen adding 5 to 8 minutes to the baking time for warm and freshly baked biscuits with no advance preparation on the day of serving.
Why are my biscuits flat rather than tall and layered?
The three most common causes of flat biscuits are warm butter that melted into the flour rather than staying in distinct cold pieces, overworked dough where the gluten was developed enough to prevent proper rising, and a twisted biscuit cutter that sealed the cut edges. Review all three of these factors and adjust accordingly for the next batch.
Conclusion
This Strawberry Shortcake is the summer dessert that we make year after year because it is that perfectly simple, that genuinely extraordinary, and that completely irreplaceable as the dessert that tastes most like the season it celebrates. Flaky, juicy, creamy, and completely wonderful in every single assembled bite. We hope it brings the same sweet summer fragrance and the same deeply joyful table to your kitchen that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa
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Strawberry Shortcake The Most Beautiful Homemade Summer Dessert You Will Ever Make
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 to 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most beautiful homemade Strawberry Shortcake made with flaky layered buttermilk biscuits sugar-macerated fresh strawberries and billowy fresh whipped cream. A completely from-scratch summer dessert that captures everything extraordinary about peak strawberry season in every single assembled bite.
Ingredients
6 to 7 cups Fresh Strawberries quartered
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar for strawberries
2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour plus extra
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar for biscuits
4 tsp Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter cold and cubed
1 cup Cold Buttermilk
2 tbsp Heavy Cream for brushing
Coarse Sugar for sprinkling
1 cup Heavy Cream cold for whipped cream
2 tbsp Granulated Sugar for whipped cream
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
1. Stir quartered strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes until juicy.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Cut cold cubed butter into dry ingredients with pastry cutter until coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces remain.
5. Pour cold buttermilk over mixture. Fold gently until just combined into a shaggy dough. Do not overwork.
6. Pour onto floured surface. Gently bring together with floured hands.
7. Flatten to 3/4 inch thick. Fold both ends to center. Turn 90 degrees. Flatten. Fold again. Repeat once more.
8. Cut into 2.75 to 3-inch circles pressing straight down without twisting.
9. Arrange touching in cast iron skillet or on parchment-lined sheet. Brush tops with cream. Sprinkle coarse sugar.
10. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden.
11. Beat cold heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to soft-medium peaks about 3 minutes. Refrigerate.
12. Slice biscuits in half. Layer with strawberries, syrup, and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 shortcake
- Calories: 385
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 46g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 58mg
Keywords: strawberry shortcake, homemade strawberry shortcake, buttermilk biscuit shortcake, easy strawberry shortcake recipe
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