Strawberry Shortcake Recipe From Scratch

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Enjoy this easy old fashioned Strawberry Shortcake, made from scratch, that was inspired by shortcake served at the Poteet Strawberry Festival!

Strawberry Shortcake has fresh, juicy strawberries, on top of a sweet flaky biscuit, made from scratch, and topped with pillows of sweet whipped cream. They are perfect anytime but especially for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, or any day!

Each spring every year since I was a child, my family and I would visit the Poteet Strawberry Festival outside of San Antonio, Texas, and enjoy this classic strawberry shortcake dessert. It become one of my favorite Strawberry Desserts, along with my Shoney’s Strawberry Pie!

Farmers from Strawberry Farms all over the area would bring their fresh strawberries to sell.

However, my favorite part was trying that luscious strawberries in the homemade Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits made from scratch. It was this childhood memory that inspired this Strawberry Shortcake Recipe.

When I made the Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits, my husband told me that they were so good that I should open up my own biscuit restaurant! There you go, this recipe is endorsed by my main taste tester, my husband!

Table of Contents

• Why You Will Love This Recipe
• Why This Recipe Works Well
• How to Make Strawberry Shortcake From Scratch
• How To Make The Strawberry Topping
• How To Make The Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits
• How To Make The Whipped Cream Topping
• How To Assemble Strawberry Shortcakes
• Recipe Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love
• Recipe
• Reviews

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Flavor: Sweet, fresh strawberries, bursting with flavor on their own are combined with homemade sweet, flaky biscuits, with a hint of citrus, and topped with sweet, and creamy whipped cream.
• Texture: I love the combination of the creaminess from the whipped cream combined with the sweetness of the strawberries, and the flaky, rough texture of those sweet, melt-in-your mouth biscuits.
• Homemade: Homemade recipes seem to always taste the best and this is no exception. There are no store-bought biscuits here. Everything is made from scratch. But no worries, it is easier than you think!

Why This Recipe Works Well

• It is a tried and true recipe that has been made many times.
• It is made by someone with a lot of experience with highly-rated strawberry recipes, like Strawberry Crumb Bars, Strawberry Cheesecake Salad, and Strawberry Dump Cake.
• It has step-by-step instructions and photos to help ensure success with the recipe.
• The sweetness of the strawberries pairs well with the citrus in the shortcakes.
• The creaminess of the whipped cream balances well with the flaky texture of the shortcakes.

How to Make Strawberry Shortcake From Scratch

Equipment

The affiliate links below will allow you to see the product on Amazon.com. If you purchase one of the items, I will receive a very small commission on the product, which does not increase the price.

• Food Processor – Make it easy on yourself and use a food processor when making the strawberry shortbread biscuits.
• Baking Sheet – A set of good quality, highly rated baking sheets that will likely get lots of use.
• Stand Mixer – This is one of those kitchen tools that really make life easier.
• Hand Mixer – If you don’t want a stand mixer, then try this electric hand mixer.
• Mixing Bowls – I like this mixing bowl set with airtight lids.
• Biscuit Cutters – This is a good quality set.

Ingredients

Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.

• StrawberryShortcake Biscuit Ingredients:
  • All-purpose flour
  • Lemon zest – This gives the strawberry shortcake biscuits extra flavor with a hint of citrus!
  • Granulated sugar
  • Baking powder – You will be using 2 whole tablespoons for this recipe.
  • Unsalted butter – It is very important that the butter be very cold.
  • Cold buttermilk – If you don't have buttermilk, you can add 4 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1 ¼ cup of milk.  Let it sit for 3 minutes, then use in place of the buttermilk
  • Heavy whipping cream – This is to brush on the tops of the shortcakes before baking
  • Coarse sugar – You can use granulated sugar instead
• Strawberry Topping Ingredients:
  • Strawberries – Fresh strawberries garnish the best results. Make it a day and head to a strawberry farm near you or maybe to the nearest farmers market to pick up some fresh strawberries.
  • Granulated sugar – This draws juice from the strawberries and makes them sweeter.
  • Vanilla extract – This adds extra flavor
  • Mint leaves – Use mint leaves for garnish. This is optional.
• Whipped Cream Ingredients:
  • Cream cheese – you can also use mascarpone cheese.
  • Heavy whipping cream – Don’t substitute milk. For the best results, use heavy whipping cream so you get that perfect consistency for the whipped cream.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Vanilla – Use clear vanilla if you have it.

Directions

How To Make The Strawberry Topping

• Place the sliced strawberries, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and toss to combine.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

How To Make The Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits

• Place all the dry ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse to mix.  
• Add the cold butter and pulse in bursts till butter is covered with flour and it is like gravel.

• Add the buttermilk and pulse till a dough forms.  This will only take a few seconds.

• Dust a mat or counter with flour and dump the dough onto the flour.  The dough may be sticky and this is fine.  Dust a bit of flour over the dough and press dough out with your hand into a ½ inch round.  

• Using a large biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles.  Place them on the cookie sheet.
• Gather remaining dough and gently form a new ball and press out, cut out more circles.  You can gather the remaining dough and make one small circle with this.

• Brush the tops of the shortbread with the whipping cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.  The tops will be lightly golden in color.
• Remove and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before cutting.

How To Make The Whipped Cream Topping

• In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese till soft and add the sugar and vanilla.  Whip till light and a bit fluffy.

• In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream till fluffy.  Fold it into the cream cheese mixture.

How To Assemble Strawberry Shortcakes

• Cut the shortbread in half lengthwise.

• Add strawberries.

• Add a large spoon of whipped cream.

• Place the top on and add more strawberries, juice, and whipped cream.
• Sprinkle with a little bit of coarse sugar.

• Serve.

Recipe Tips

• Food Processor. You can make these by hand, or use a food processor.  The butter needs to be very cold.  If it begins to warm up, it needs to go back into the refrigerator until it hardens back up.  Pulse the butter into the flour before you add the buttermilk.
• The Dough may be a bit sticky, that is fine.  Just put some flour down and dump the dough out.  Gently push it out with your hand to form a large ½ inch thick circle.  Then using a circle cutter, cut out the shortcakes.  You don't want to overwork the dough or it won't be soft.  
• Use The “Scraps.” After all the circles have been cut out, gather the remaining pieces of dough and gently form a ball.  Press it down into another ½ inch circle and cut out more shortcakes.
• Don’t Do The Twist. Make sure not to twist the cutter, this will seal the edges preventing it from rising.
• Whipped Cream is elevated by adding some cream cheese or mascarpone cheese to it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Recipe