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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Just finished making two batches in my non-stick muffin pans. They all stuck to the bottom, so I am very disappointed because I am serving them for Easter. I generously greased the bottom of the muffin tins with Crisco. The first batch I waited until they cooled before I removed them. The second batch I waited 10 minutes until I removed them, but had the same result. The recipe did not say to use muffin liners or to put flour over the Crisco in the muffin pans. I followed the recipe to the letter. They taste very good and will be great with strawberries, just wish they were more presentable.
Hey Maureen, sorry they stuck on ya. I use non stick spray on my pans usually and they don’t stick for me. One thing that’s tough about recipes that I can’t control is the bakeware itself. If you had a tin that was poor quality or had been used a lot, then you could easily have trouble with them sticking no matter what you do. Cupcake liners would be great insurance against sticking in the future…it’s just something I’ve never encountered whether I make this in an 8×8 glass pan, metal or cupcake tin. At least they tasted good though. It would have been worse if they tasted bad and stuck too! –Rachel
I think you are right; my bakeware is old. Next time I will use cupcake liners. The cakes themselves were really great, and I served them to family. I will definitely use your recipe again; they went perfectly with our strawberries and whipped cream.
Ahhh yes. See there’s the issue! USA Pans makes the most amazing muffin tins. You should look in to those when you get ready but yes, use liners from here on out in that pan. –Rachel
Excited to try this for my daughters bday party Saturday! DO you think I can make the cakes ahead of time and freeze them so they will just be ready when we need them Saturday?
Hey Kaylee, eh….yes probably. I’m always going to be in favor of making them fresh if you can, but if you want to freeze them a day or two ahead, take them out the morning of the party and let them thaw on the counter then warm them in the oven for 10 minutes or so before you serve them to help soften them back up. It should work just fine. 🙂 Happy Birthday to your daughter! –Rachel
Thanks for the recipe. I made it with a gluten free flour mix, and it turned out fine!
That’s great Victoria. I’m glad you enjoyed them. –Rachel
This cake is absolutely perfect for strawberry shortcake. Really loved it. This will be my go to from now on. Did not change one thing. Perfect size for me. Thank you sooo much. Delicious. Cannot stop eating it.
I totally agree Dee! I’m so glad you got your belly full on them! You’re very welcome. 🙂 –Rachel
My 12 year old and I quickly whipped this recipe up for our dinner with guests and we loved it!! I used a tube pan and sprayed it first, and the outside was crunchy and the cake was buttery and delicious! My husband just kept on about how good it was. We can’t wair to make another one!
Hey Dana, that’s great! I’m so glad it worked well. It’s great when a recipe is easy enough for a child to do it. Thank you for letting me know! come see me again soon. –Rachel
Turned out great!!
So glad to hear that Felicia! –Rachel
Can I double the recipe by simply doubling the ingredients?
Hey Jamie, not necessarily. I don’t usually double this version because we don’t need that many shortcakes but as one reader pointed out, she doubled hers and they were a disaster. Not every baking recipe can be doubled as a recipe for pasta or burgers can be. You’re welcome to try it but to be safe, if you want twice as many, make two separate batches and not one big one. –Rachel
I followed the recipe but doubled it. And my cakes came out runny and overflowing….
You know Nikki since I wasn’t there to see what happened by best guess is in the fact that you doubled it. When it comes to baking, not every recipe can be doubled successfully. It seems like you should be able to, but because baking is more science than it is anything else, it doesn’t always work. I know this recipe is delicious and works when followed as written–maybe try it again and just make the regular amount first and see how those turn out. 🙂 –Rachel
I have been looking for a good vanilla cake recipe for a long, long time and this one is exceptional. Not having eggs at home that day, I substituted the two eggs for 2 tbspns of flax seed powder mixed with 6 tbspns of water and worried a bit about the trade. But the cake was extremely good, with the aroma of vanilla and butter ruling over a moist, tender crumb. Highly recommend this recipe.
Hey Hema, Yes flax seed eggs are certainly an option and it sounds like you pulled them off perfectly! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I hope you’ll come back for even more delicious recipes soon. 🙂 –Rachel
Looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow. Iam going to add blueberries.
I hope they were delicious James!