Strawberry Shortcake

I think classic strawberry shortcake is the most beautiful and luscious of all the Southern desserts, especially in the spring and summertime. It certainly is a favorite at my house.

What is there not to love about tender, flaky biscuits filled with fresh juicy strawberries and topped with lots of fluffy whipped cream?

Strawberry shortcake can be made so many ways.  With yellow cake, pound cake, sponge cake, or angel food cake, but I love it the old-fashioned way with   sweet tender biscuits made from scratch.

Don’t let the made from scratch biscuit scare you or stress you out because I will walk you through the whole process. These biscuits are very easy to make. It’s absolutely a NO fail biscuit. You can do this even if you have NEVER made a homemade biscuit in your life. I promise!

I know you will love this recipe. I have spent many hours in the kitchen testing and testing (I don’t even want to think about all the extra calories!) until I came up with a recipe that is very tender and flavorful.

Here’s the run down on the ingredients that I came up with. I use a combination of Crisco shortening and butter. The shortening really gives the biscuits a very tender and flaky texture. The butter gives it a delicious buttery taste. A little sugar gives the biscuit a sweet taste. Vanilla extract makes everything taste better.  Sour cream and heavy whipping cream makes the biscuit super moist. No dry biscuits here! Extra, Extra baking powder and beaten eggs will make these biscuits rise a mile high! Just kidding, but they will rise beautifully.

Since these biscuits are so tender and flaky, you need to let them cool completely before slicing so they won’t crumble. I had rather have them crumbly than too hard and dry any day. 

Fresh whipped cream is what you GOT TO HAVE for strawberry short cake. Please, Please No frozen non-dairy cool whip for this fabulous dessert. We MUST use the real deal here -HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM. Of course, I know that you won’t even think of using that frozen stuff, would you?

Tips for making Strawberry Short Cake Biscuits

• Make sure that your baking powder is fresh. Baking powder is very important in getting the biscuits to rise up high.
• Sift and then measure your flour. Make sure all lumps are out of dry ingredients.
• Beat eggs lightly before adding to dry ingredients.
• Make sure shortening and butter are cold.
• Be very gentle when mixing the biscuit dough. Over mixing the dough will make your biscuits tough and flat.
• Work very quickly because you don’t want the biscuit dough to become too warm.
• These biscuits are drop biscuits so there is no rolling out and cutting out. I told you that they were easy!
• Use a heaping 1/3 cup or an even ½ cup to drop biscuits onto a grease baking sheet or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Chill the dropped biscuit dough on the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before baking or you can place them in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Chilling will make sure that the dough is cold which will make your biscuits rise higher.
• Use a pastry brush to brush heavy cream on the biscuits before baking. Also I like to sprinkle the biscuits tops with granulated sugar or turbinado sugar crystals for a crunchy, sugary crust.
• Bake at a high heat, 425 degrees F. for about 9 to 12 minutes.
• Let the biscuits cool completely before slicing.

For the strawberries, it’s best to slice and pour sugar over them a few hours before serving and let them chill in the refrigerator. I mash about a cup of strawberries in addition to slicing to let the juices run out.

When strawberry season is over, you can substitute the strawberries for fresh peaches, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. All of these fruits will make a delicious short cake!

Not only are shortcakes with any fruit delicious for dessert, they are great to serve for breakfast, brunch, garden party, or bridal shower.

Please let me know if you make these. I would to get your feedback. Also send me your photos of your strawberry short cake too!

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