Strawberry Shortcake
Fresh biscuits and whipped cream with gorgeous strawberries…it’s all just too good!
It’s a classic dessert, one you might think of as a summertime treat but I like to think of it as an anytime-it-strikes-my-fancy treat. This is one of my favorite desserts and it’s a great beginner’s baking project. Fresh biscuits and whipped cream with gorgeous strawberries…it’s all just too good!
The biscuits are fairly basic, flour, butter, and buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest…all of these create a flavorful and flaky buttermilk biscuit for the base of my strawberry shortcake. The secret to the “sauce” here is folding the dough into layers. Typically, shortcake biscuits are made drop biscuit style. The layering technique here will create visual layers in the shortcake and help achieve the desired flakiness that makes these so much more elevated. And I’m not done yet! An egg wash will help the tops of the biscuits turn a glistening golden brown, but I also like to sprinkle the biscuits with raw sugar so that not only are the tops golden, they’ve also got a nice sugary crunch on top. So good.
Part I of is to make the biscuits. Part II is the strawberries. You can cut your strawberries to your liking. I like to slice the strawberries into rounds before tossing them in lemon juice and sugar. Part III is to make fresh whipped cream. It’s so easy to do, so, for now, set aside the can of premade whipped cream. Mascarpone cheese along with heavy cream is the secret to a truly stunning whipped cream. I’m adding another layer of subtle richness by using maple syrup rather than powdered or granulated sugar to sweeten the whipped cream – just enough to keep it interesting but not overly sweet.
Ok, let’s put this all together. My biscuits are sliced in half horizontally and then filled with whipped cream and strawberries. Any juice that’s been released by the strawberries is drizzled over the strawberries again – leave no flavor behind! Finally, the whipped cream. Now all you need is a fork to enjoy this beautiful homemade strawberry shortcake. It’s too good…enjoy!
This recipe is featured in our online cooking class, Valentine’s Day Treats.
Click the link above to watch the step-by-step video of how to make this recipe!
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Strawberry Shortcake
For biscuit:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, grated
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg yolk + 2 teaspoons water, for egg wash
- Raw sugar, for sprinkling
For strawberries:
- 1 1/2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced in rounds
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced
For whipped cream:
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 425 F and prepare a parchment-lined sheet tray.
- To prepare biscuits, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a bowl. Slowly drizzle buttermilk into the flour mixture and mix using the back of a wooden spoon until a dough mass is formed.
- Remove the dough onto a floured surface and roll with a rolling pin to create a rectangle, fold dough into 3 pieces to create layers of flakey pastry. Repeat rolling and folding one more time and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll dough into an even rectangle and cut into 8 pieces.
- Place biscuits onto a prepared sheet tray right next to each other, brush with extra buttermilk, and top with demerara sugar.
- Bake biscuits for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- In a bowl, combine strawberries, vanilla, and sugar. Gently toss strawberries together so the sugar distributes, but the strawberries hold their shape.
- In a stand mixer, whisk heavy cream, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt together until soft peaks form.
- Assemble shortcakes by splitting biscuits, topping with cream and macerated strawberries, top with biscuits and more cream.