Skip the store-bought and make summertime strawberry shortcake completely from scratch with this recipe! These lightly sweetened biscuits are simply perfect for holding juicy strawberries and fresh whipped cream.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips. I also updated the biscuit recipe in 2022. Using less flour and baking powder, adding a bit of baking soda, and including a dough folding step, these sweet biscuits are better than ever.
Today is real food and real flavor brought to life without any peanut butter swirls, caramel drizzles, rainbows, chocolate chunks, candy bar pieces, sprinkles, or unicorn magic. Strawberries + sweet biscuits + whipped cream. Every summer has a different song anthem with the latest chart-topping hit, but the summer dessert anthem stays the same year after year. And that dessert we just can’t get out of our heads, tastes delicious any time of day, and soothes our summertime soul is most definitely strawberry shortcake.
One reader, Ruth, commented: “This was phenomenal! Best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever made! Made with local berries that you can only get for a few weeks of the year really put it over the top! The flavors melted together perfectly. I loved the buttermilk flavor of the shortcake, light and flaky, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Excellent! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Debbie, commented: “This was an easy recipe to pull together for the wow-factor presentation it made. Everyone loved not just the look but the taste of this amazing dessert! It made our Fourth of July memorable, and I will definitely be making this again! ★★★★★“
Here’s What You Don’t Know About Strawberry Shortcake
Completely homemade strawberry shortcake is easier than you think. Skip the store-bought biscuits and whipped topping. Instead, have fun making strawberry shortcake at home. Load the homemade biscuits up with juicy strawberries and homemade whipped cream that, again, is so simple. If you can reach for store-bought whipped cream in the dairy aisle, you can make fresh whipped cream at home.
I hope I’m not overwhelming you with all this homemade goodness—I promise it’s all very doable. It might even be easier than making strawberry shortcake cupcakes. And that’s what summer is about, right? Simple, happy, pure homemade goodness that celebrates the season’s fresh flavors.
Fresh Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake
You only need two ingredients for the strawberry filling: sugar and fresh strawberries. Chop up the strawberries and mix with a little sugar. The sugar helps strawberries release all their delicious juices, which will seep down into the sweet biscuits and whipped cream. (Aka the best part about strawberry shortcake!) I recommend mixing the strawberries and sugar together before you make the biscuits; this gives the strawberries some time to juice up.
Use Cold & Cubed Butter in the Biscuits
Use a food processor or pastry cutter, like we do for pie crust, to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients, as detailed in the printable recipe below.
How to Make & Shape These Biscuits
Biscuits for this strawberry shortcake are not nearly as tall and fluffy as regular biscuits. Just to set your expectations appropriately! Don’t expect a super tall biscuit.
The shaping process is exactly like our regular biscuits using the fold and flatten method. Flattening and folding biscuit dough creates multiple flaky layers, just as it does when we make homemade croissants. This step is a lot easier than it looks. First, pour the crumbly dough onto a floured work surface:
Flatten the dough to about 3/4 inch thick with your hands or use a rolling pin:
Fold both ends into the center:
Turn it:
Flatten again and repeat 2 more times.
Use a biscuit cutter to shape them. You can use a 3-inch biscuit cutter or 2.75-inch biscuit cutter. You can bake the biscuits on a lined baking sheet, cast iron skillet, or round cake pan. A brush of heavy cream and sprinkle of coarse sugar gives the sweet biscuits a delightfully crisp top.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Just 3 ingredients here: cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. The colder the heavy cream, the more volume your whipped cream has. Unlike store-bought whipped cream, you can control the amount of sugar. I prefer lightly sweetened whipped cream with strawberry shortcake, so we’ll only use 2 Tablespoons. And another thing! Homemade whipped cream tastes 100x better than store-bought.
With its light and billowy texture, whipped cream is the perfect topping for pies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, trifles, and so much more.
Let’s Assemble Strawberry Shortcake
After the biscuits bake, it’s time to assemble the strawberry shortcakes. Strawberry shortcake is fantastic with warm biscuits, cold strawberries, and cold whipped cream—but you can also wait for the biscuits to fully cool.
Assembling the strawberry shortcakes is the fun part! You can totally set up a “strawberry shortcake bar” where everyone makes their own stacks. And you could definitely add blueberries to the sweet strawberries for a patriotic treat in the summertime.
More Fan-Favorite Summer Desserts
- Key Lime Pie – only 3 ingredients in the filling
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Peach Cobbler – with homemade biscuit topping
- Fruit Pizza
- Lemon Blueberry Cake & Blueberry Pie
- Strawberry Bread
- Berry Galette
For even more inspiration, view all of my dessert recipes. This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
Print
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Shortcake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fresh summer strawberries shine in this simple homemade strawberry shortcake recipe. The biscuits don’t rise super tall, but you’ll enjoy their crisp crumbly texture paired with the soft whipped cream and juicy strawberries.
Ingredients
Strawberries + Whipped Cream
- 6–7 cups quartered strawberries
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
Biscuits
- 2 and 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for hands and work surface*
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt (I recommend fine sea salt)
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup (240ml) cold buttermilk*
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or buttermilk
- coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Start with the strawberries: Stir the strawberries and 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar together in a large bowl. Cover and set in the refrigerator until ready to use. This time allows the strawberries to release their delicious juices.
- Make the biscuits: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.
- Pour buttermilk on top. Fold everything together with a large spoon or silicone spatula until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots. Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface in this step. Using floured hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough horizontally. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4 inch thick rectangle.
- Cut into 2.75 or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough.) Re-roll/flatten any scraps and cut more circles until you have around 10-12 biscuits.
- Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (see note) or close together on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, then cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before assembling.
- Make the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Slice the biscuits in half and layer with strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Each part of this recipe can be prepared ahead of time. Make the biscuits up to 3 days in advance and store covered tightly at room temperature—or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before using. Prepare the strawberries in step 1 up to 1 day in advance. Prepare the whipped cream up to 1 day in advance. Store both in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Cutter or Food Processor | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | 3-Inch Biscuit Cutter or 2.75-Inch Biscuit Cutter | 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Flour: Starting with cold flour is helpful when making biscuits. If you can remember, place the flour in the freezer 30 minutes before beginning.
- Baking Powder: To avoid a chemical aftertaste, make sure your baking powder is labeled aluminum free. I usually use Clabber Girl brand and though the ingredients state aluminum, I’ve never noticed an aluminum aftertaste.
- Buttermilk: You can substitute whole milk for buttermilk if desired. Acidic buttermilk isn’t needed in order for the biscuits to rise since we’re using baking powder. However if you’d like the tangy flavor, which I highly recommend, you can make your own buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold milk to make 1 cup. (You need 1 cup in the recipe, plus 2 Tbsp for brushing– you can use regular milk to brush on top.) Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Whole milk is best for the DIY sour milk substitute, though lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. (In my testing, the biscuits don’t taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower fat or nondairy milks.)
- If you’re using a cast iron skillet: If your cast iron skillet isn’t well seasoned, I recommend greasing it with a little vegetable oil or melted butter. Brush a thin layer of either on the bottom and around the sides. No need to heat the cast iron skillet before using, though you certainly can by placing it in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before arranging the shaped biscuits in it.
- Older Version of This Recipe: We tested and retested this recipe based on reader feedback. Old version of this recipe called for 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour and 2 Tablespoons baking powder (no baking soda). The written recipe above yields better results with more flavorful and taller biscuits.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Will frozen strawberries work? We don’t have fresh at this time of year where I live.
Hi Mairi, fresh strawberries are best for strawberry shortcake. You can use other fruit that is in season if you prefer! Other berries would be delicious.
OMG! Best strawberry shortcake ever! Cakes were perfect—fluffy on the inside and crusty on the outside! This is a keeper!
I am confident this recipe will be delicious. I’m getting ready to make a batch for my wife to take to her card game tonight. I want to share a gripe…the measurement for the amount of strawberries is listen in cups. Can you add what that translates to in approximate weight?
Hi Bill, one cup chopped strawberries usually weighs about 150g, so you’ll need around 1000g here.
Are these just scones ?
Hi Werj, these are American biscuits—in the U.S., biscuits are similar to a dinner roll, but are denser and flakier because they aren’t (typically) made with yeast. In other parts of the world, “biscuits” are more like cookies or scones. Hope this helps!
My family love this dish. It sure was a hit!!
Made these for a friend’s birthday. Everyone said they were the best dessert they have ever eaten.
I need the nutritional breakdown. Especially, carbs, protein, fat, etc
Hi Roma, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Very good biscuits for shortcakes. However, based on the 10-12 biscuits quantity, I expected to get 5 biscuits with a 3′ cutter with half the recipe but was only able to get 3 plus a smaller 4th one. I rolled the dough to exactly 3/4″ per the instructions.
I LOVE this recipe. They came out perfect, absolutely beautiful! I’ve made a lot of different shortcake recipes, but this one is the best. Thank you!
How many shortcakes does this recipe make. I cant find this sntwhere
Hi Carol, this makes 10 to 12.
Great recipe! Next time I am going to use a little less sugar in the biscuits. I love the salty sweet aspect of the biscuits vs the strawberries! I also use powdered sugar – to taste – for the whipped cream. Yum yum yum.
can I use a knockoff baking powder
Hi Loki, we’re unsure what you mean, but generic branded baking powder is fine. Just make sure it’s aluminum free for this recipe.
This recipe was perfect for mothers day! Absolutely delicious! Best strawberry shortcake I have ever had!
Tough to give a five star score to a recipe that needs special kinds of pantry staples. Used my normal baking powder and shortcakes tasted metallic. They also didn’t rise. Not great.
Using Aluminum free is key!! If you cant find it in a store, make your own Baking Powder.
3 Tbsp Aluminum free Baking Powder = 1 Tbsp Baking soda + 2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
I am planning on making this for a wedding reception. Can I Make multiple batches at the same time?
Hi Virginia, For the best results we do recommend that you make separate batches of the biscuits. You can double the whipped cream though. Enjoy!
Keep the excellent recipes coming! Made these exactly according to the recipe. Turned out perfectly. This recipe gets posted inside my kitchen cabinet door. No need to look for another shortcake recipe.
So glad you love this recipe, Mary Ellen!
Delicious!!! We loved them very very very much!
Enjoyed the tidbits of additional information.
These biscuits were delicious
Delicious and still light. Made home made ice cream too!
I had no buttermilk or baking powder when I made these! Did the milk and vinegar as a sub for the buttermilk and did baking soda+vinegar for the baking powder. I was shocked when these still turned out great!
This recipe was excellent and I have been making and eating strawberry shortcake for my whole life (I’m pretty old). The biscuits are what makes it. I loved the technique of folding and pressing the dough. They came out perfectly crunchy of the outside and flaky on the inside.
Thank you. These are fantastic. Love the way the sugar and heavy cream brushed on them at the end turns out. Exactly what I was looking for, not too cakey, perfect.
This absolutely didn’t work. Followed recipe exactly. Tasted like a spoonful of baking powder. Threw it in the trash.
Delish! What is the best way to reheat the biscuits if you make them a day ahead?
Hi Susan, you can pop them in the microwave and reheat to your liking. So glad you enjoyed them!
I just want a short cake recipe not a biscuit recipe.
I am a baker myself, but I just can’t tell you how fast you need to run to your kitchen to make these.
They are so yummy, & easy to make.
Recipe is so easy to follow. Love the pictures they will be helpful to new bakers.
I made a batch in the morning. I had to make a second batch that afternoon.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
WOW!!!! This was THE best strawberry shortcake we’ve ever had! Your directions were easy to follow and you were totally right about making the whipped cream–canned whipped cream definitely would not do this recipe justice. I added a tiny bit of salt to the whipped cream and some strawberry vinegar to the strawberries (along with the sugar) for extra taste. I used my air fryer/toaster oven to bake them (at 400 degrees) and they were done in about 16 minutes. I turned the heat down to 350 and baked for another minute (about 17 minutes total bake time).
OMG! I made this strawberry shortcake recipe recipe last night for my grandson‘s 13th birthday. And the whole family fell in love with it they couldn’t stop praising me about how good it was. Thank you so much for that awesome recipe I’ll be looking forward to more.
I’m a 71-year-old American who has lived in a provincial area of Japan since 1982. Shopping in the local supermarket the other day, I picked up two servings of what looked like strawberry shortcake. At home, my Japanese wife and I tucked into the pastry; I knew in an instant that the purported shortcake was not shortcake, but conventional cake baked to appear as shortcake. To educate my wife as to what real shortcake tastes like, I prepared your recipe, and, despite not having baked in the past forty years, was pleased at how delicious it turned out. The finished product also garnered rave reviews from my daughter, her husband, and their two children (our grandchildren) whose palates will forever know what “real” homemade shortbread tastes like. Thank you. (Note: strawberry shortcake, indistinguishable from that served in western countries, is available in coffee shops throughout Japan. But still . . .)
Hi David, thank you for giving this recipe a try! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it. Happy baking!
I’ve started a new tradition – making these every Valentine’s Day. This is my 3rd year of doing it. They are so easy to make and taste SO good! Highly recommend.