Delicious Homemade Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake tastes better when it’s homemade! Use this recipe to make a delicious, traditional dessert that will wow your family and guests.

Strawberry Shortcake is best with a traditional sweet biscuit base!

For years, I’ve always made my strawberry shortcake desserts using angel food cake or a sponge cake. While enjoying a book during some downtime, I stumbled across a scene where a classic strawberry shortcake dessert was made for one of the characters. They used the traditional sweet biscuit base versus a cake. It was inspiring to try and create my own!

The crust of these sweet biscuits hold up better than cakes to the whipped cream and juicy, sweetened strawberries. The inside of the biscuits are soft and buttery. They absorb the perfect amount of the delicious flavors without becoming a soggy mess.

Have you ever heard “Cold Ingredients – Hot Oven” in regards to biscuit-making? This is one cooking adage you’ll want to listen to. Try to keep your ingredients as cold as possible during the preparation process, handling them as little as possible. When they’re ready to put in the oven, you’ll need to have it preheated to 500°F oven to bake.

For this strawberry shortcake recipe, the process is easier if you have a large food processor or a pastry cutter to prepare the dough. However, if you don’t have either, you can still make this recipe work. Chop the cold butter into small pieces using a knife, or use a grater. Once the butter is in small pieces, place it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Using a 2″ – 3″ biscuit cutter, you can make quick work of this dessert. Be sure to dip the cutter in flour before pressing straight down into the dough. Resist the urge to twist the cutter. This causes the biscuits not to properly rise.

One way of eliminating the time you handle the dough is to shape into a rectangle and cut into squares. This is the method I used for this recipe feature. There is less waste using this method, too!

Regardless of which way you choose to make the biscuits, place them close together so they will help each other rise higher while in the oven. It will truly make a difference in this strawberry shortcake treat!

Ingredients & Tools You’ll Need to Make the Strawberry Shortcake:

• Fresh strawberries
• Granulated sugar
• Orange liqueur or orange juice
• All-purpose flour
• Aluminum-free baking powder
• Salt
• Buttermilk
• Unsalted butter
• Turbinado sugar
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar
• Fresh mint
• Sharp chef’s knife
• Large glass bowl with lid
• Food processor
• Pastry cutter/blender
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Parchment paper
• Large rimmed baking sheet
• Stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment
• Cooling rack

How to Make Strawberry Shortcake:

To prepare the strawberries, place the hulled strawberries top side down and slice from the tip to the base to create pointed slices, as shown. Combine the sliced strawberries, sugar, and orange liqueur or orange juice in a large glass bowl and gently toss to combine. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to overnight, stirring once or twice while they soak. This is one of the most important parts of the strawberry shortcake recipe — don’t skimp on it!

Place top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat oven to 500°F.

To prepare the dough, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl or food processor container. Stir or pulse briefly to combine.

Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry cutter or pulse with the food processor until the mixture is just combined and crumbly. (Or add the pre-grated or chopped frozen butter to the dry ingredients and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until evenly distributed).

Add one and a quarter cups cold buttermilk to the mixture and pulse or stir until just combined. Do not overwork the dough for the strawberry shortcake biscuits. It should be a little wet, but still a bit crumbly.

Spread a sheet of parchment paper onto a clean work surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Dump the dough onto the prepared surface and roll into a rectangle shape approximately 3/4” thick.

With a sharp chef’s knife, trim the edges of the dough to make an even rectangle. Reserve the scraps to make extra biscuits, if desired.

*Use caution while cutting to avoid tearing the parchment paper. If you have a gas oven, use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper. Line the baking sheet with another layer of foil in case the one you are working on tears while cutting. 

Use the sharp knife to cut straight down into the dough to create 12 equal-sized squares, as shown. Lightly brush the remaining buttermilk on top with a pastry brush and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.

Why Turbinado Sugar?

Turbinado sugar is a partially-refined sugar that retains some of the molasses, providing a subtle caramel flavor for your baked goods. It is a non-genetically modified crop. You’ll often see this marketed as “raw” sugar. If you don’t have it on hand, blend and equal amount of brown sugar and white sugar to replace it. I love using it in this strawberry shortcake recipe for that subtle caramel flavor addition!

Dust excess flour off the parchment paper (or aluminum foil) and transfer the sheet to a large, rimmed baking sheet. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 14-15 minutes or just until the biscuits are golden brown. (Check after 10 minutes and adjust final cook time accordingly).

While the biscuits are baking, prepare the whipped cream by beating all 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can use store-bought whipped cream for the strawberry shortcake, but it’s easy and a lot tastier!

Once golden brown, remove the biscuits from the oven and cool for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Once cool, assemble the shortcakes by cutting the biscuits in half and applying  a generous scoop of whipped cream to the bottom half of each biscuit. Top with some of the macerated strawberries. Add the top half of the biscuit and finish off each shortcake with another dollop of whipped cream and some more strawberries. Add a small sprig of fresh mint for garnish and serve immediately. Enjoy your homemade strawberry shortcake!

More Strawberry Recipes:

• Caprese Skewers with Balsamic Glaze
• Strawberry Cream Whoopie Pie
• Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
• Strawberry-Banana Granola Parfaits
• Summer Strawberry Pineapple Sangria

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