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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Thank you so much for this recipe. I wanted a cake type for my strawberry shortcake and all you can find on Internet is Biscuits cakes. I made mine in a pan. They turned out perfect. Easy to make and taste great!
I baked longer in order for the cakes to turn out easily from the muffin tin(I did grease the tins).
For health reasons I’m wondering about decreasing the sugar in this recipe.
Do you think I could use ½ or ¾ cup sugar rather than 1 cup?
Would it turn out fine ?
3/4 cup works fine here Liz. If you go lower than that you’ll risk altering the structure of the cake and the moisture levels. Sugar does more than provide sweetness in baked goods but cutting 1/4 cup is okay. –Rachel
Delicious results. I used pan spray in a muffin tin and they stuck really bad. I’ll try butter and flour to grease next time, or just use muffin tin liners. I added blitzed-up strawberries to the whipped cream for more color and flavor.
Grease with butter n then shake in a bit of sugar instead of flour. It won’t stick, makes the bottom just a bit crispy n no flour in the corners. Works on all sizes of pans for dessert!
I was looking for a cake-type shortcake recipe this afternoon instead of the biscuit-type and I found yours. I decided to try it this evening since I had some strawberries and it is delicious! Exactly what I was hoping for! My husband loved it too, so I know I’ll be making it a lot. Lol!
The only thing is, I used a 8×8 glass pan and had to bake it for 40 minutes. I just kept checking it with a toothpick. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Barb! It’s a definite favorite here as well. –Rachel
These are perfect! This has become my go-to recipe for shortcakes. I use the batter to make 12 small cupcakes. Perfect serving size for us.
I’m glad you enjoy them Claire!
Made these last night and they turned out fantastic! I was sooooo impressed I shared it with my sister. I really appreciate the info on how to make substitute buttermilk because I didn’t have any. I used the milk and vinegar recipe. My only regret is that I didn’t make a double batch!LOL
I made this with my 8 oz ramekins. I doubled the recipe for 10 and filled it to the line. Baked for 35 min. Came out great thank you!!! I wish I could post the picture.
How many ramekins did you use for this strawberry shortcake recipe because you said you doubled the batter.
Friends loved these easy to make shortcakes, which I have baked in doubled recipe, using eighteen, paperless, canola-sprayed muffin cups.
Your recipe produced a fine outcome, even the time I used the last of a vegetable shortening (instead of the butter), to empty the pantry of that ingredient. Thank you!
My niece requested a strawberry shortcake-cake for her birthday. So I made this in a 9×13 baking dish, baked for 25 min, came out perfect! I cut it in half and put the two halves on top of each other with a layer of whip cream and homemade strawberry sauce in the middle and top. It was soooo good! Define my saving this recipe for strawberry season 😋
Wonderful Kayla!
Did you double or triple this recipe for a 9×13?
Yes you can double it. I tried to triple it once and it collapsed so don’t go further than double.
hi there. did you bake the 9×13 longer? I was hoping to do the same!!!
I weigh flour for baked goods, so used 180 gms of flour (based on the King Arthur standard of 120 gms/cup) and baked these for 20 mins in a USA brownie bowl pan. This recipe filled the 6 cups perfectly, so individual servings were quite large. I did weigh them down with a sheet pan as they were cooling so they’d have flat bottoms. If I make these again for berry fillings, I’d add some orange zest and Fiori Di Sicilia extract to the batter.
Sounds great!