Homemade strawberry shortcake is a far cry from those round flavorless discs you buy at the grocery store. Discover how to make your own homemade strawberry shortcake in a few simple steps. Just add whipped cream and dig in!
You know those round yellow cakes you buy in the bakery of the grocery store with the indention in the middle? The kind that we call “shortcake”? Yeah, well they aren’t. They are short alright–short on flavor, short on texture, and they are missing the mark in a ton of ways.
My guess is if we left them on the counter for an unidentified length of time they would never mold. I could use them to hold my cookbooks open on the counter. Or as doorstops. Or to scotch the tires on the farm wagon.
And that worries me a little.
I’ve been making my homemade strawberry shortcake for a really long time. To me, it’s easier to whip this up. Takes like, um, 30 minutes. You only need one bowl and no mixer. It’s pretty much dump, mix and bake. For the pictures you see here, I baked a couple of round cakes in small ramekins. You can use a muffin tin if you would like, but the original recipe calls for an 8×8 pan and serves about 6 people–it’s just as easy to do it that way and cut squares.
Tips for the best homemade strawberry shortcake
- Use a good whipped cream with yours. You can make it from scratch with a recipe like this one, or you can buy it in a spray can. I’m just not a fan of Cool Whip though. Even though we love it, there’s not a drop of real cream in that. It’s whipped oil. Boo.
- Once you stop seeing pockets of raw flour in your batter, stop mixing. You don’t want to make strawberry shortcake bricks. Keep them tender and soft with gentle mixing.
- Use any fruit you like with these little gems. Fresh peaches in summer, strawberries, blueberries. Yikes I love it. In the winter, you could even cook down some frozen fruit and pour it warm over the top of the cakes.
How to prepare the strawberries for homemade strawberry shortcake
This is a snap. Wash your strawberries, and cut off of the leaves and stems. You can just cut a bit of the top off–that’s easiest. Then cut your berries in half or in slices depending on how large they are.
If you want to have some sweet juice to drizzle over your shortcake, put your berries in a bowl and add a few tablespoons of sugar.
Let them sit about 15 minutes and they will release their own juice you can spoon over the cakes.
If you don’t want juice, you can toss the berries in some sugar and serve immediately, or leave off the sugar altogether.
Are you ready to dig in? Get started and then leave me a comment and let me know how you loved them!
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
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Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease an 8x8 pan or 10 spaces on a muffin tin.
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Cream the butter and sugar with a spoon, beating well until the mixture is light and slightly fluffy. About 40 strokes around the bowl or so.
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Add the buttermilk,eggs and vanilla and mix well.
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Using a sifter sitting over the bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking powder to the sifter and tap the dry ingredients into the wet ones.
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Mix with a spoon until no dry clumps of flour remain.
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Bake 25-30 minutes for the 8x8 pan or 15-20 minutes for the muffin tin until the cake springs back and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Serve slightly warm with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
Susan Alfson says
I’m going to make these for church, can I double or triple the recipe without worries?
Rachel Ballard says
Hi Susan, Yes they should be just fine. 🙂 I hope you enjoy them! –Rachel
Donna Wait says
Can i make these the day before and store in container
Rachel Ballard says
Hey Donna, Yes I think so. They may need a little rewarm in the oven but they’ll be okay. Because there aren’t all the preservatives in these like the ones you buy at the store they will go stale faster but not overnight if they are in something airtight. I hope you enjoy them! –Rachel
Lauren says
This looks delicious!! Do you think k I could substitute plain Greek yogurt for the buttermilk for a healthy dessert??
Rachel Ballard says
Hey Lauren, you’d probably want to thin that Greek yogurt with something before you use it, but yes I think it would be fine. And as a side note, buttermilk is actually very low fat–there’s no butter in it. 🙂 –Rachel
Judi says
Can these be frozen
Rachel Ballard says
Hi Judi, Yes they can. I often freeze cakes for later. These will just need to be in something to protect them from the cold. Like a Tupperware container. Don’t just toss them in a zip lock and put them in because they will freezer burn. You can safely freeze them for a couple of weeks though and then bring them out several hours or overnight before serving. –Rachel
Minnie says
Used sour milk instead of buttermilk and wow, they were still amazing!
Rachel Ballard says
Thank you Minnie! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! –Rachel
Megan says
Theses are amazing! My husband likes my cooking, but I’ve never seen him as enthusiastic about anything I’ve made in the last 39 years as he was about these last night. He ended up having two desserts. I made them as written, using reconstituted dried buttermilk. This is a keeper – thank you!
Rachel Ballard says
Well that’s saying A LOT if it took 39 years to get than man excited about a recipe. Maybe he was just really craving shortcake? Hahahaha!!! I’m so glad he enjoyed them and that you got all the praise for it Megan! –Rachel