Strawberry Shortcake

Homemade buttermilk sweet biscuits gets topped with fresh strawberries and easy 3-ingredient whipped cream for the perfect summer dessert! And this dessert is ready in 30 minutes or less!

Is there anything better than strawberry shortcake for dessert in the summer time? It’s one of those desserts that I always had a kid growing up. Hot summer nights = grilled dinner finished with a fresh strawberry shortcake.

But I’m elevating this dessert I had as a kid. Although the strawberries were fresh, the “shortcake” part was anything but. I hate to say I grew up on those spongy cakes from the store. Rarely was it actual homemade biscuits. And although cakes are fine, I love my strawberry shortcake dessert served on top of a buttery, fluffy biscuit.

Yes I’m team biscuit all the way when it comes to my strawberry shortcake.

Why You Will Love This Dessert

• Quick To Make. As always biscuits are so quick to make, about 15 minutes (or even less!)
• Easy One To Freeze. Let’s face it baking in the summertime isn’t always that much fun. So why not whip up a batch of these and freeze them to have on hand whenever you need a quick, easy dessert to present.
• Perfect summer dessert! – When strawberries are in season in the summer, there’s nothing better than making this summer dessert.

Are biscuits the same as scones?

Simple answer. No they aren’t. Now here’s the longer answer…

Scones, like my blueberry scones, have eggs. Biscuits do not have eggs. Ok I guess that wasn’t that long of an answer…

Ingredients Needed

Ingredients Notes

• Unsalted butter – I always recommend unsalted butter vs. salted butter so you can control the amount of salt and it’s fresher. But if you only have salted don’t let that stop you from making this dessert! Just reduce the salt.
• Buttermilk – A great biscuits calls for buttermilk to give it that tenderness. If you don’t have any, you can make a homemade buttermilk (won’t be quite the same but will do the trick in a pinch!)

How to make this dessert

Make the strawberry filling

1. Stem and quarter the strawberries.
2. Combine the strawberries and sugar in a bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the biscuit dough

1. Combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.    
2. Cut in butter. Using your fingertips, two knives, or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is pea-sized.
3. Combine wet ingredients. In a small measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla. Then make a well and pour in the buttermilk vanilla mixture.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry. Stir in buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients to form a shaggy, wet dough.

BAKING 101: You want to make sure to use COLD ingredients (cold butter and buttermilk) to keep the butter as solid as long as possible. If you have time, pop your flour in the freezer for 30 minutes before starting! The butter will then melt once it’s in the oven, and the water in the butter turns to steam pushing apart your layers creating flaky biscuits.

Shape And Cut Biscuits

1. Knead the dough. The dough will be pretty wet and sticky at this point. Just scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Bring the dough together with your hands. Then you want to knead the dough by pressing the dough down and fold in thirds (like a book). Repeat this 3 times to create flaky layers.
2. Cut out the biscuits. After you have kneaded the dough together a few times then pat the dough into a 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick circle. Cut out the biscuits using a 2 ½ to 3 inch biscuit cutter.
3. Press scraps together and cut out remaining biscuits. Try to handle the dough as little as possible.
4. Bake the biscuits. Arrange biscuits onto either parchment lined cookie sheet, in a round baking dish or in a cast iron. Brush the tops with heavy cream and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Make the whipped cream

1. Combine the cold heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar together in a cold mixing bowl. I chill my bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes before starting.
2. With an electric mixer, whip cream, sugar and vanilla on low then increase to medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and curdled looking.

HEATHER’S BAKING TIP: As long as your cream hasn’t turned to butter, if it’s slightly overbeaten, just work in a few tablespoons of cream to smooth it back out.

More Biscuit Baking Tips

• Do not overwork the dough! Knead the dough a few times for perfectly flaky layers. But be sure to not knead the dough too much. If you keep playing with the dough then it will warm up the butter too much. 
• Do not twist your cutter. When you cut out the biscuits, press straight down and up. Don’t twist the cutters. Otherwise, the biscuits will come out lopsided.
• Flaky layers are key.  You want to create flaky layers with biscuits. I achieve this by flattening the dough (rolling pin or the palm of my hand) and then folding the dough in half. I repeat this about 3-4times. 
• Place the biscuits close together when baking. This creates fluffy pull apart biscuits as opposed to ones with crispy edges. 

Recipe FAQ’s

More Biscuit Recipes To Try

• Strawberry Shortcake With Sourdough Biscuits
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Blueberry Biscuits
• Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
• Self-Rising Biscuits

Strawberry Shortcake

As a child, the hot lazy days of summer meant strawberry shortcake was going to end the meal at some point. But it was always served with bland store bought biscuits. Now as an adult, I make sure to keep the tradition alive but serve with these homemade sweet buttery biscuits and layer them with juicy strawberries and sweetened whipped cream.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 biscuits

Calories: 347kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

Strawberry mixture

• ▢ 1 1/2 pounds strawberries hulled and sliced
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Whipped Cream

• ▢ 1 cup (240 mL) cold heavy cream
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Biscuits

• ▢ 2 3/4 cups (330 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ ¼ cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons, 113 g) unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
• ▢ 1 cup (240 mL) cold buttermilk
• ▢ Additional cream for brushing on top
• ▢ Additional sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

Make the strawberries

• Combine strawberries and sugar. In a large bowl, stir together the strawberries and sugar. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Make the whipped cream

• Chill. Chill the beaters and bowl for 10 minutes before starting the recipe.
• Whip ingredients. With an electric mixer, whip cream, sugar and vanilla on low then increase to medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and curdled looking. Can be made up to 1 day ahead, just cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Make the biscuits

• Preheat and prepare pan. Preheat your oven to 425oF. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
• Combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Cut in butter. Using your fingertips, two knives, or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter are pea-sized. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir to combine.
• Shape and cut the biscuits. Empty the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick circle and then fold the dough in half. Pat the dough out again and fold in half. Repeat this process 2-3 more times. Using a biscuit cutter (or the rim of a large drinking glass) press straight down into the dough. Do not twist the cutter, which can cause your biscuits to come out lopsided.
• Bake the biscuits. Place the biscuits next to each other on the cookie sheet so they touch. Brush with additional cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.

Assemble the strawberry shortcake

• Cut open one biscuit, across the middle. Spoon on strawberries. Top with whipped cream. Top with second half of the biscuit. Serve immediately.

Notes

• Making ahead: I would recommend up to 3 days ahead of time for the biscuits, or you can also freeze for up to 3 months (thaw first before serving). I would recommend 1 day ahead of time for the strawberry filling, and 1 day for the whipped cream (although I’ve had the whipped cream hold for longer, up to 3 days!)
• Freezing: You can freeze the biscuits in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I love putting them in a sealable plastic bag and squish as much air out as possible. They will thaw pretty quickly at room temperature. I also love warming them up in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds. Or freeze unbaked! I freeze them solid first on a baking sheet and transfer to a sealable bag. Bake frozen and add a few minutes of baking time.
• Pan: You can bake these shortcake biscuits on a cookie sheet, in a round or square baking pan, or in your cast iron as I did. If using a cast iron, you may want to grease it first with a little melted butter or vegetable oil (no need to preheat).
• Buttermilk: Cold buttermilk is key. If you don’t have any, make a homemade buttermilk version instead. 
• Cold ingredients: You want to use COLD ingredients to make sure the butter doesn’t get too warm and absorb into the dough. This will create flaky biscuits. If you have time, even pop the flour in your freezer for 30 minutes!

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 323mg | Potassium: 372mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 414IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 2mg

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