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 shortcake for strawberries from scratch 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 easy 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 your strawberry shortcake recipe
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!
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease an 8x8 pan or 10 spaces on a muffin tin.
- 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.
- Add the buttermilk,eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- 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.
- Mix with a spoon until no dry clumps of flour remain.
- 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.
- Serve slightly warm with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
Jeremy says
This recipe came out perfectly! So moist and flavorful. Much,much better than those store bought disc’s. I didn’t have butter milk, so I substituted with 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 Tbs of white vinegar.
Brittany Casteel says
How long did you bake them in the ramekins??
Rachel Ballard says
These were baked in a muffin tin for the pictures here Brittany. You’d want to bake until a toothpick comes out clean but you’ll need to watch them. Check them at 10 minutes and they may take as long as 15 or so. –Rachel
Brenda Pence says
Can u replace buttermilk with something else?
Rachel Ballard says
Regular milk is fine. –Rachel
Debbie says
Can you use regular milk?
Rachel Ballard says
Yes you sure can Debbie. –Rachel
Elissa says
I’ve been wanting a real shortcake to go with my strawberries and not a biscuit Thank You so much! I just made the recipe and it’s almost done, the house smells amazing. I did do my own flavor enhancement, a pinch of cardamom, zest from a Cara Cara orange and a splash of almond flavoring. What I was thrilled with this recipe, using one bowl and creaming the butter and sugar by hand. Wow! I got them out of the oven let them cool a few and then removed them from the muffin pan, I got 12 muffins happy! Took one sliced it in half for a taste test with hubby Wow! Best little cake ever and I’m sure when I top them with the fresh strawberries they will even be better.
Rachel Ballard says
Wonderful Elissa! Short cake is CAKE to me as well. Your adjustments sound lovely and delicious. I’m so glad you enjoyed them! –Rachel