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Strawberry shortcakes are such a simple yet perfect summer dessert. When fresh strawberries are at their peak, they're full of sweet juices that beg to be soaked up by a homemade biscuit. The fresh whipped cream brings it all together for a not-too-sweet treat that is light enough for a hot summer’s day.
While strawberry shortcake recipes can vary, many use biscuits, which is what I chose for this recipe. I used my recipe for the best-ever homemade biscuits here, topping them with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar for that extra sweet touch. While these are the perfect biscuits for strawberry shortcake, if you're looking for a shortcut, check out these Bisquick strawberry shortcake biscuits.
First order of business: Macerate the strawberries, i.e., toss them with sugar and lemon juice and let them sit until they’re soaking in their own syrupy juices. Set the berries aside at room temperature until ready to use or, if you’re the planning type, refrigerate them for up to 1 day.
Now let’s make some biscuits. Whisk the dry ingredients—the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt—in a large bowl until combined. Now add the cold butter; let me repeat that, the cold butter. Cold butter is a crucial for creating the layers within the biscuits that result in a light, flaky crumb and a higher rise. You want the butter to be sufficiently cold that it doesn’t begin to melt while you’re working the dough.
Using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture by pressing and rubbing it between your fingertips until it forms pea-sized pieces. As the shortcakes bake, those pieces of butter are going to melt and create steam pockets that give you the loft and flakiness we’re after here. Now pour in the buttermilk and mix with a rubber spatula until a rough, shaggy dough comes together; don’t worry if you see pockets of dry flour at this stage.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out into a 1"-thick rectangle. Now fold the dough into thirds, as if you were folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90° and roll out into another 1"-thick rectangle. Repeat the folding process a second time. You’ll want to work reasonably quickly so the butter doesn’t melt.
Roll out the dough into a 1"-thick rectangle once again and stamp out biscuits using a 3 1/2" biscuit cutter; I recommend dusting the cutter with flour to prevent sticking. Technique matters here: When cutting out biscuits, you want to press straight down on the cutter, then lift straight up. Resist any temptation to twist the cutter—doing so will pinch the edges of the dough together and prevent your biscuits from rising to their full potential. Once you’ve cut out biscuits, gather and reroll the dough scraps, then cut out more biscuits.
Transfer the biscuits to a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2" between each to give them room to expand. Grab a pastry brush and brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk; sprinkle lightly with turbinado sugar. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze the biscuits for 10 minutes, or until cold. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425°. Finally, bake the biscuits until golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.
We’re almost there! Whip the heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar until it holds soft peaks. How to tell? Lift the beaters out of the whipped cream and turn them upside down. The whipped cream at the end of the beaters should form peaks that gently fold over and collapse onto themselves.
Cut the biscuits in half and spoon some macerated strawberries and their juices over the bottom halves.
Dollop some whipped cream on top, then close up the shortcakes with the top halves of the biscuits. Will you look at that—strawberry shortcakes!
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
It wouldn't exactly be a strawberry shortcake without strawberries (obviously), but you can give the shortcake treatment to almost any fresh fruit if you're making this outside of strawberry season. For other summer fruit shortcakes, check out this lemon-blueberry shortcake. In the fall, break out the apples, pears, and brown sugar and when winter rolls around, try pomegranate and grapefruit shortcake.
Biscuits are invariably at their best when fresh out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. Reheat them in a 350° oven for a few minutes until warm and soft. You can also freeze biscuits for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw them in a 350° oven until warm.
pints strawberries, hulled, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
granulated sugar
(300 g.) all-purpose flour
baking powder
granulated sugar
kosher salt
(1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
buttermilk, plus more for brushing
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
heavy cream
confectioners' sugar
In a medium bowl, toss strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar until combined. Let sit at room temperature until ready to use, or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.
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