Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
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!
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Strawberry shortcake tips
- For the pictures you see here, bake 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.
- If you would like, you can toss the berries in a bit of honey or sugar and let them sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. This process is called macerating and will end you with slightly softened, sweetened berries.
- Shortcake is best when eaten the day the cakes are made. Don’t assemble until ready to serve.
- Whip up your own homemade whipped cream by beating together 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar or honey. Beat until stiff peaks form.
To make in advance:
- Cakes. Prepare the cakes up to 2 days ahead of time. Allow them to cool before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Whipped cream. The whipped cream can be made up to 4 hours in advance. Note that it will start to fall the longer it sits.
- Berries. If you are using fresh berries, go ahead and slice them up to 5 hours in advance. If you are making macerated berries (which I highly recommend), it is best not to slice them more than 30 minutes ahead of time.
To freeze: Allow the cakes to cool completely before sealing them in an airtight container and storing them in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy, allow the cakes to thaw at room temperature before making the whipped cream, macerating the berries, and assembling the dessert.
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry shortcake is a distant winner over the pre-made round yellow cakes you find in the grocery bakery. Making this cake will change your whole perspective on this spring treat!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar see Note 1 for reducing the sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour gluten free flour works
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease an 8×8 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 8×8 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.
Notes
Note 1: Some readers tend to feel that this recipe is too sweet. If you’d like to reduce the sugar, take it down to half or even 3/4 cup if you’d like to. Any less than that will alter the cake’s structure.
Nutrition
Calories: 248kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 223mgPotassium: 129mgSugar: 20gVitamin A: 350IUCalcium: 59mgIron: 1.1mg
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Made this recipe tonight and it was sooooooo good. My husband said I would never have to buy those prepackaged shortcakes ever again. I replaced the dry ingredients with self rising flour with perfect results. Yum!
That’s right Sherri! Use those round things from the store to scotch your tractor tires. They aren’t worth much else. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed this recipe! –Rachel
Just made these tonight and baked them in an 8×8 pan. Served them in cubes with the whipped cream and strawberries. They are soooo good! Love the crisp top and edges! Never buying the packaged ones again! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
Hey Kathy! Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I agree–they are so wonderful and no store bought round will ever hold up to it now. 🙂 I hope you enjoy them over and over again. –Rachel
Can I use cake flour instead of regular flour?
Hey Andrea, If the recipe calls for all purpose, then yes you can. You want to use one cup plus two tablespoons of cake flour for every one cup of all purpose flour. 🙂 Thanks! Rachel
Tried this shortcake recipe today, came out great. Every one in the family loved it. Other strawberry shortcake recipes call for oven temperature of 450 or 425. I burnt my cake last time following one of those. I am glad I found this recipe, baked at 350 the cake texture and flavor are great. I served with vanilla ice cream and honey coated fresh strawberries. Yummy!!
Way to go Lisa!I’m so glad you liked it! Isn’t it great when you can make a dish that everyone loves? And speaking of love…I’d love some honey on my shortcake too! 🙂 I appreciate your comment! –Rachel
This looks delicious! I think I’ll make this for my daughter’s birthday :). How many shortcakes will the recipe make if using a muffin pan?
You know Melony, this usually fits in an 8×8 pan so I’d say you could get probably 10 muffins out of it. Double the recipe just in case!–Rachel
One of my favorite desserts! Yum!
Would regular milk work in place of buttermilk?
Yes it sure will Joy. Go for it!
It looks like you baked as muffins in the picture. What would be the bake time for those? Thanks!
Hey Jan, about 15-18 minutes SHOULD do it. Just check them by sticking a toothpick in the center. When it comes out clean, they’re done.
In your ingredient list it says baking powder, but in the directions it says baking soda which one do I use?
Jamie it’s baking powder. Let me go fix that. Thanks for the catch I type too fast for my own good sometimes.
The directions don’t say when to put in the buttermilk. I’m assuming it goes in with the eggs and vanilla?
Yes it does Lexy. Thanks for the catch. Sometimes I get ahead of myself when I type. I’ve got it fixed now!