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Get ready to make strawberry shortcake at home, completely from scratch, with zero guesswork! I’ve been making strawberry shortcake for as long as I can remember, and I spent hours perfecting this into easy-to-follow steps so you can make it at home too!
My foolproof recipe makes juicy strawberries, irresistible shortcake biscuits, and simple homemade whipped cream that ties it all together.
What makes this the Best Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Traditional strawberry shortcake is a very simple dessert, but sometimes perfecting the simple recipes can be the trickiest. In my version, we skip the angel food cake and use flaky, sweet biscuits instead. These are slightly sweet and perfect for soaking up the juice of the strawberries. Seriously, they are the best biscuits!
If you’ve tried to make strawberry shortcake at home before and run into issues like soggy biscuits or cake, flavorless strawberries, or runny whipped cream, you need to try my recipe! We slightly sweeten the strawberries, bake flawless shortcake biscuits using the process of lamination (creating flaky layers), and use my tried-and-true homemade whipped cream that is literally foolproof.
Once you try this recipe with flaky biscuits in place of cake, you’ll never go back! So get ready to bake a dessert with a real wow-factor, with me, your strawberry-shortcake bestie to guide you through it! Keep reading for all my best tips and tricks.
Easy Strawberry Shortcake ingredients
Fresh strawberries and simple ingredients that you likely already have on hand in your kitchen is all it takes to make this recipe. Get the full recipe with measurements and instructions in the recipe card below. Here’s what you’ll need:
Strawberry Topping
- Strawberries: stemmed and sliced or quartered
- Granulated sugar
Shortcake Biscuits
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter: cubed
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla
- Egg
Whipped Cream
- Heavy whipping cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
How to make Strawberry Shortcake Dessert
30 minutes from start to finish, that’s all it takes to make this homemade strawberry shortcake! It’s the perfect dessert for strawberry season! Keep reading for the full recipe, my best tips and tricks and storage instructions below. Here is the step-by-step process:
Strawberry Topping
- Prep strawberries. Cut up the strawberries into slices or quarters, then put them into a medium bowl. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the berries and stir. Put the bowl in the fridge while you make the shortcakes so the strawberries can release their juices.
Shortcake Biscuits
- Prep oven. Preheat the oven to 400º F.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the cold, cubed butter and use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until pea sized amounts of butter remain.
- Add wet ingredients. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg. Use a spatula to gently combine until the dough is thick and sticky.
- Knead biscuit dough. On a silicone mat or kitchen counter, gently knead the dough, until all the flour is incorporated. Add 1-2 additional tablespoons of flour if the dough is too sticky.
- Lamination (folding the dough to create flaky layers!). Press the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half, press it down slightly, then turn the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again. Repeat this folding and turning process 4-5 times.
- Shape dough. Shape the dough into a rectangle that is about 1.5 inches tall.
- Cut biscuits. Use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut out circles. When using the cutter, press down straight without twisting because twisting can seal the edge, leading to poor rising of the shortcake.
- Place biscuits on pan: Place the biscuits 2-3 inches apart on a baking sheet that’s lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Egg wash and sanding sugar. Brush the tops of the biscuits with egg wash (1 large egg + 1 Tbsp water), buttermilk or heavy cream. Sprinkle the biscuits with coarse sugar.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly golden. Allow the biscuits to cool.
Whipped Cream
- Freeze equipment. Place a metal or glass mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Combine ingredients. Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, beat with an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes on high speed, or until stiff peaks form / it’s scoopable with a spoon and holds its shape.
Assemble Strawberry Shortcakes
- Assemble. Slice a biscuit in half. Top one half with strawberries and whipped cream. Place the other half of the biscuit on top. Top with additional strawberries and whipped if desired.
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Variations
Here are some options for variations of this recipe:
- Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Recipe: You can make this recipe gluten free by simply replacing the flour with gluten-free flour. I prefer King Arthur’s Gluten free flour. Use it as a one-to-one substitute for regular flour.
- Add more toppings: You can add additional toppings to change the flavor. See topping ideas below.
- Angel food cake: If you prefer angel food cake, try my popular angel food cake recipe.
- Strawberry swap: If you don’t have fresh strawberries, you can try swapping for strawberry puree or strawberry jam, but it may eat a little dry without the juice from the strawberries. I don’t recommend using frozen strawberries.
- Pound cake: If you want a more dense cake, you can also swap the biscuits for this tender vanilla cake.
How to serve Classic Strawberry Shortcake
It’s best to assemble strawberry shortcake right before serving. To assemble, simply slice the biscuit in half and then layer biscuit, strawberries, whipped cream, biscuit, strawberries, and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Easy Strawberry Shortcake Topping Ideas
A good strawberry shortcake doesn’t need anything extra, but if you want to jazz it up with extra toppings, here are some ideas:
- Lemon zest
- Chocolate shavings
- Mini chocolate chips
- Fresh herbs like mint or basil
- A drizzle of hot fudge sauce
- Sprinkles
- Chopped nuts
- Ice cream
- Other types of fresh fruit like blueberries
- Shaved coconut
Storing Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
It’s best to store the 3 parts of this recipe separately. The strawberries and the homemade whipped cream will last up to days in the refrigerator in an airtight container (separately). The biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
You can also freeze the biscuits for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, let them thaw at room temperature. If you freeze leftover biscuits, you can always whip up some strawberries and whipped cream any time you get the craving and thaw some biscuits to layer them with!
More Strawberry Recipes
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Easy Recipe for Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
Strawberry Topping
- 1 ½ pounds strawberries, stemmed and sliced or quartered
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 66 grams
Shortcake Biscuits
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 270 grams
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, 50 grams
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed, 170 grams
- ½ cup buttermilk, 118 ml
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 large large egg
Whipped Cream
- 1 pint cold heavy whipping cream, 2 cups, 473 ml
- ½ cup powdered sugar, 57 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Strawberry Topping
- Cut up the strawberries into slices or quarters, then put them into a bowl. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the berries and stir. Put the bowl in the fridge while you make the shortcakes so the strawberries can release their juices.
Shortcake Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 400º F.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the cold, cubed butter and use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until pea sized amounts of butter remain.
- Create a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg. Use a spatula to gently combine until the dough is thick and sticky.
- On a silicone mat or kitchen counter, gently knead the dough, until all the flour is incorporated. Add 1-2 additional tablespoons of flour if the dough is too sticky.
- Lamination (folding the dough to create flaky layers!): Press the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half, press it down slightly, then turn the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again. Repeat this folding and turning process 4-5 times.
- Shape the dough into a rectangle that is about 1.5 inches tall.
- Use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut out circles. When using the cutter, press down straight without twisting because twisting can seal the edge, leading to poor rising of the shortcake.
- Place the biscuits 2-3 inches apart on a baking sheet that’s lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with egg wash (1 large egg + 1 Tbsp water), buttermilk or heavy cream. Sprinkle the biscuits with coarse sanding sugar.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly golden. Allow the biscuits to cool.
Whipped Cream
- Place a metal or glass mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, beat with an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes on high speed, or until stiff peaks form / it’s scoop-able with a spoon and holds its shape.
- Assemble Strawberry Shortcakes
- Slice a biscuit in half. Top one half with strawberries and whipped cream. Place the other half of the biscuit on top. Top with additional strawberries and whipped if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
This was an excellent shortcake biscuit recipe – it’ll be my go-to from now on. The measurements and directions were spot on. I used the weight measurements and really appreciate that you included them. Baking by weight is easier than dragging out measuring cups, sifiting and leveling. The biscuits came out really tall, layered and beautifully sugar crusted. I made a couple of minor additions: I added the zest of a lemon to the dough with the sugar and flour. For the strawberries, I brewed a teabag of hibiscus tea with a few of tablespoons of honey and the juice of the zested lemon, then used that mixture to macerate the berries for an hour before serving. Really great!