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!
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.
Serena says
Delicious! I made this as a small wedding cake for my daughter. I made three 6″ layers with strawberries and whipped cream.
Rachel Ballard says
That would be a perfect wedding cake. I’m so glad you liked it Serena. And congratulations to your daughter! –Rachel
Gretchen Tyree says
This is the richest and easiest shortcake to make. I added some nutmeg to the flour mix and then sprinkle some sugar on top of the batter for a little crunch. Absolutely fantastic and am making again tonight.
Rachel Ballard says
That nutmeg would be a lovely addition to the batter Gretchen! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. –Rachel
Red Carma says
I normally don’t leave reviews since I change most recipes (diabetic on deck) but I followed this recipe with the exception of using vanilla pudding instead of pure vanilla (I didn’t have any) and I have to say I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. It is definitely better than the store bought sponges they sell in a six pack. The end result was a soft round warm cake that wasn’t overly sweet and I was able to push the middle down with my thumb to make an indention for the berries like the grocery store sponges. I highly recommend this recipe if you want to make your own strawberry shortcakes. It is the best version and will be made again in my house. Thanks for the recipe.
Rachel Ballard says
Your review is very welcome here! Thank you for taking the time to write it and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. –Rachel
Jessica Oppegard says
Do I have to use buttermilk?
Rachel Ballard says
Hey Jessica, nope you sure don’t. I like the tang of buttermilk so I use it a lot but certainly regular milk will work just fine. –Rachel
Hthompson says
Delicious, crowd-pleasing strawberry shortcake recipe. I had three generations of compliments today at our Mother’s Day lunch. Btw, you had me at the intro to the recipe. I couldn’t agree more about the packaged sponge cakes, gag! These are a huge cut above. In fact, I’m picking at a leftover one right now while I write this. Make it! It’s yummy and super easy. I’ll make it again for sure, and shared the recipe w my mom. Thank you!
Rachel Ballard says
Oh you’re so welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. –Rachel
Roxanne Nowinski says
I made these as mini bundt cakes and they turned out wonderfully. The next weekend, i thought I would try the cake version. I baked it to the letter and tested with a toothpick which came out clean. However, when it cooled it fell in the middle and didn’t seem done. What do you think went wrong?
Rachel Ballard says
Hey Roxanne, no doubt it just needed a bit longer in the oven. Even three or four minutes would have probably done it. I know I make it in an 8×8 really often with no problem but since oven temperatures vary so much, your larger size may have needed a little extra. I like to do the toothpick test, but then also press my hand on the center of the cake. It should be firm and not sink at all when you press it. Just try it again! 😉 –Rachel
ScottM says
I want to make this for company this weekend. The blog says to bake at 350 degrees but the YouTube video says to bake at 375 degrees. Which temperature is best? Thank you!
Rachel Ballard says
Scott, always go with what’s written in my recipe. For some reason when I start yacking on YouTube I say random things even though I have the recipe right there in front of me! Ack. 😉 –Rachel
Sue says
Made these then saw the calories. 414 per cake? Then you add strawberries and sugar. Way too much. Sorry, but they were good.
Rachel Ballard says
Hey Sue, actually no there are not 414 per cake. The recipe has been on my site for several years and the computer that calculates the calories had calculated for 7 cakes and the recipe makes 10 (sometimes 11) so I re-ran the numbers and it came out to 248. Better, but certainly not low calorie. Around here though, we count chemicals, not calories and these are certainly a treat to be enjoyed every once in a while. –Rachel
Lola says
This is the best shortcake we have ever eaten. It is even good just eating it by itself! Amazing! Keeping this recipe forever. Thank you for sharing.