0
DessertsRecipes

Strawberry Shortcake

By May 24, 2018 2 Comments

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!

Print

Strawberry Short Cake


  • Author:
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes
  • Total Time: -28902132.333333 minute
  • Yield: 10 to 12 servings
  • Category: Desserts

Ingredients

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES:

  • 2 pounds fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced or quartered
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar

FOR THE STORTCAKES:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons baking powder
  • ¾ cup solid vegetable shorting such as Crisco, chilled
  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, chilled
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream, plus 3 Tablespoons for brushing on tops of shortcakes
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Turbinado sugar crystals or granulation sugar, for sprinkling on shortcakes

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Mash 1 cup of the strawberries to release extra juice. Slice or quarter the remaining strawberries. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and stir. Cover and refrigerate while you make the shortcakes so they can get juicy. I like to do this step at least a few hours ahead.
  2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. F. Grease a large baking sheet or line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a baking mat.
  3. In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, and baking powder together, Using a pastry blender work in the vegetable shortening and butter into the dry ingredients until you have pieces that are the size of peas. Mixture will be crumbly.
  4. Very gently, to avoid OVER MIXING, stir in beaten eggs, sour cream, heavy Cream and vanilla. STIR JUST UNTIL MIXTURE IS MOISTENED. DO NOT OVER MIX to avoid shortcakes from becoming tough and flat.
  5. Drop dough by ½ cups onto the prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry Brush, brush the tops of the shortcakes with heavy cream. Place shortcake Dough in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes or place in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
  6. After chilling, sprinkle tops of shortcakes with sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
  7. Let shortcakes cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.
  8. While the biscuits are cooling, make he whipped cream. With an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream on high speed until it starts to slightly thicken. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over mix. (Chill my mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least one hour before whipping the cream) This really helps in creating more volume from the whipping cream.
  9. To assemble the shortcakes, cut the biscuits in half horizontally. Spoon about ½ cup berry mixture onto each shortcake bottom; top with whipped cream; if desired top with another layer of berry mixture and whipped cream and top with a short cake top. Top each shortcake with a dollop of the remaining whipped cream. (I love the double layer shortcake!) Garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.
  10. You can also break up the shortcake biscuits in a bowl and spoon the berry mixture over the biscuit crumbles and top with whipped cream. So, so delicious this way too!!

Notes

Do ahead tip/freezer:  You can certainly make the shortcake biscuits ahead of time! I love that!! The dough can be frozen. Simply place unbaked biscuits on a lined baking sheet and freeze. When frozen, transfer the biscuits to a freezer bag and from up to 1 month. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. and bake for 22 to 25 minutes. You can also freeze baked shortcakes in a freezer bag as well for up to 6 weeks. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You can warm them up in the oven, if desired.

aletiadupree

aletiadupree

Hi, my name is Aletia. I am a true blue Southern girl, cookbook author, entrepreneur, self-taught food photographer and lover of chocolate.

2 Comments