Oh, so sweet strawberries on top of buttery and flakey shortcakes topped with whipped cream. These are delicious! They have the perfect combination of strawberries to shortcake to cream ratio.
The motivation...
It is not quite strawberry season in Ohio but I was craving fresh strawberry shortcake. I grew up on strawberry shortcakes. As I was making these, it was taking me back to my childhood and how often I use to make these for dessert. I may even say strawberry shortcake was my favorite dessert as a kid. My older sister loves strawberry shortcakes and I use to always make these for her. Whether we had a special occasion or we were just craving something sweet, strawberry shortcake was our go-to dessert.
Making these strawberry shortcakes brought me back to my love for simple and sweet desserts. Those desserts that you make when you have limited ingredients in your kitchen and you are looking to whip something up fast. Strawberry shortcake is easy to make and so simple. It is crazy how just a few ingredients can make something so good. These are so damn good! No joke, I ate way too many of these as I was taking these pictures.
About the recipe...
This recipe tastes amazing during summertime when strawberries are fresh. In Ohio, strawberry season is in June so I am almost there but not quite! I couldn't wait for the season to start and the strawberries I had in my fridge tasted so fresh and sweet. I love making this recipe when it is strawberry season and the best part is that you can use out-of-season strawberries and adjust the sugar level based on the sweetness of the strawberries. You pre-slice the strawberries and let them sit in a sugar lemon mixture while you make the shortcakes. This allows the strawberries to marinate and pick up that extra sweetness. I could eat a whole bowl of those sugary strawberries!
The shortcakes are full of butter and heavy cream which creates a flakey, moist, and rich cake. It is important to use cold butter when making the dough and to not over-mix the dough because it will become too dense and heavy.
The last step is to make fresh whipped cream which could honestly be my favorite part. I love whipped cream so much. Every time I make whipped cream I end up eating many spoonfuls of the cream. When I make whipped cream I always add less sugar and then gradually add more because I like to adjust the sweetness depending on the recipe I am making. The strawberries are very sweet so you don't need that much sugar in the whipped cream for this recipe.
A few tips:
Strawberries - I like to slice my strawberries to make strawberry shortcakes. You can also cube the strawberries or leave them more chunky. The lemon is key to bringing out an extra flavor to this dish. Don't skip lemon!
Shortcake pastry - use extra cold butter when making the pastry and cut it up into cubes before working it in the bowl. Be careful not to over-mix the pastry because it will turn out very dense.
Flour - I like to use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour for my shortcakes however, you can use only all-purpose flour.
Whipped cream - you must use heavy cream to make the perfect whipped cream consistency. To sweeten you can use powdered sugar or an alternative sweetener like honey or maple syrup. All sweeteners options taste delicious with this dessert! I added in crème fraîche to the whipped cream, it adds a little bit of tartness to the whipped cream which balances really well with the sweetness from the strawberries. You can leave this option out if you don't have it.
Storage - I find that these shortcakes taste best the day of. You can store each part separately in an air-tight container in the fridge and assemble the strawberry shortcake 1-2 days later.
Check out how to make these in the video below:
Strawberry Shortcake
Serving size: 6
Total Time: 40 minutes
Source: Adapted from half baked harvest
Strawberries:
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 lemon, zested
Shortcakes:
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
Whipped cream
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup crème fraîche
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Step 1: Make the strawberries first because they have to marinate in the fridge for a little while. To make the strawberries, slice the strawberries and add them to a large bowl. Mix in the granulated sugar and zest of one lemon. Toss and refrigerate.
Step 2: Make the shortcakes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 3: In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut up the cold butter into cubes and add to the bowl. Use your hands to break up the butter in the flour mixture until small pieces form. You want to make sure there aren't any large butter pieces. You can do this step in a food processor or blender. I like to do this step by hand.
Step 4: Slowly add in the heavy cream and mix the flour-butter mixture until the dough has formed. The dough should be fully moist and it is important to not over mix the dough because the shortcakes will come out too dense. I ended up adding a little bit more heavy cream, about 4 tablespoons.
Step 5: Transfer the dough to the table where the surface is lightly floured. Gently knead the dough and form a square block. Cut the dough into 6 rectangular pieces for larger shortcakes or into 8 pieces for smaller ones. You can cut the pieces out into circles if you prefer that shape. Add the shortcakes onto the prepared baking sheet and brush with some milk or heavy cream. Bake until the tops are lightly golden and bottoms are a deeper golden color, 12 minutes.
Step 6: Make the whipped cream. In a large bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the heavy cream, creme fraiche, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Whip on high speed for about 4 minutes. Taste and adjust sweetness based on your preference. Store in the fridge until you are ready to assemble.
Step 7: For assembly. Once the shortcakes have cooled, slice them horizontally through the middle to form two pieces. Be careful when slicing because the shortcakes can easily fall apart. Add a spoonful of strawberries and the juices to the base and top with a spoon full of whipped cream. Add the top of the shortcake and dig in!
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