Skip the store-bought and make summertime strawberry shortcake completely from scratch with this recipe! These lightly sweetened biscuits are simply perfect for holding juicy strawberries and fresh whipped cream.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips. I also updated the biscuit recipe in 2022. Using less flour and baking powder, adding a bit of baking soda, and including a dough folding step, these sweet biscuits are better than ever.
Today is real food and real flavor brought to life without any peanut butter swirls, caramel drizzles, rainbows, chocolate chunks, candy bar pieces, sprinkles, or unicorn magic. Strawberries + sweet biscuits + whipped cream. Every summer has a different song anthem with the latest chart-topping hit, but the summer dessert anthem stays the same year after year. And that dessert we just can’t get out of our heads, tastes delicious any time of day, and soothes our summertime soul is most definitely strawberry shortcake.
One reader, Ruth, commented: “This was phenomenal! Best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever made! Made with local berries that you can only get for a few weeks of the year really put it over the top! The flavors melted together perfectly. I loved the buttermilk flavor of the shortcake, light and flaky, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Excellent! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Debbie, commented: “This was an easy recipe to pull together for the wow-factor presentation it made. Everyone loved not just the look but the taste of this amazing dessert! It made our Fourth of July memorable, and I will definitely be making this again! ★★★★★“
Here’s What You Don’t Know About Strawberry Shortcake
Completely homemade strawberry shortcake is easier than you think. Skip the store-bought biscuits and whipped topping. Instead, have fun making strawberry shortcake at home. Load the homemade biscuits up with juicy strawberries and homemade whipped cream that, again, is so simple. If you can reach for store-bought whipped cream in the dairy aisle, you can make fresh whipped cream at home.
I hope I’m not overwhelming you with all this homemade goodness—I promise it’s all very doable. It might even be easier than making strawberry shortcake cupcakes. And that’s what summer is about, right? Simple, happy, pure homemade goodness that celebrates the season’s fresh flavors.
Fresh Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake
You only need two ingredients for the strawberry filling: sugar and fresh strawberries. Chop up the strawberries and mix with a little sugar. The sugar helps strawberries release all their delicious juices, which will seep down into the sweet biscuits and whipped cream. (Aka the best part about strawberry shortcake!) I recommend mixing the strawberries and sugar together before you make the biscuits; this gives the strawberries some time to juice up.
Use Cold & Cubed Butter in the Biscuits
Use a food processor or pastry cutter, like we do for pie crust, to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients, as detailed in the printable recipe below.
How to Make & Shape These Biscuits
Biscuits for this strawberry shortcake are not nearly as tall and fluffy as regular biscuits. Just to set your expectations appropriately! Don’t expect a super tall biscuit.
The shaping process is exactly like our regular biscuits using the fold and flatten method. Flattening and folding biscuit dough creates multiple flaky layers, just as it does when we make homemade croissants. This step is a lot easier than it looks. First, pour the crumbly dough onto a floured work surface:
Flatten the dough to about 3/4 inch thick with your hands or use a rolling pin:
Fold both ends into the center:
Turn it:
Flatten again and repeat 2 more times.
Use a biscuit cutter to shape them. You can use a 3-inch biscuit cutter or 2.75-inch biscuit cutter. You can bake the biscuits on a lined baking sheet, cast iron skillet, or round cake pan. A brush of heavy cream and sprinkle of coarse sugar gives the sweet biscuits a delightfully crisp top.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Just 3 ingredients here: cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. The colder the heavy cream, the more volume your whipped cream has. Unlike store-bought whipped cream, you can control the amount of sugar. I prefer lightly sweetened whipped cream with strawberry shortcake, so we’ll only use 2 Tablespoons. And another thing! Homemade whipped cream tastes 100x better than store-bought.
With its light and billowy texture, whipped cream is the perfect topping for pies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, trifles, and so much more.
Let’s Assemble Strawberry Shortcake
After the biscuits bake, it’s time to assemble the strawberry shortcakes. Strawberry shortcake is fantastic with warm biscuits, cold strawberries, and cold whipped cream—but you can also wait for the biscuits to fully cool.
Assembling the strawberry shortcakes is the fun part! You can totally set up a “strawberry shortcake bar” where everyone makes their own stacks. And you could definitely add blueberries to the sweet strawberries for a patriotic treat in the summertime.
More Fan-Favorite Summer Desserts
- Key Lime Pie – only 3 ingredients in the filling
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Peach Cobbler – with homemade biscuit topping
- Fruit Pizza
- Lemon Blueberry Cake & Blueberry Pie
- Strawberry Bread
- Berry Galette
For even more inspiration, view all of my dessert recipes. This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
Print
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Shortcake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fresh summer strawberries shine in this simple homemade strawberry shortcake recipe. The biscuits don’t rise super tall, but you’ll enjoy their crisp crumbly texture paired with the soft whipped cream and juicy strawberries.
Ingredients
Strawberries + Whipped Cream
- 6–7 cups quartered strawberries
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
Biscuits
- 2 and 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for hands and work surface*
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt (I recommend fine sea salt)
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup (240ml) cold buttermilk*
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or buttermilk
- coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Start with the strawberries: Stir the strawberries and 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar together in a large bowl. Cover and set in the refrigerator until ready to use. This time allows the strawberries to release their delicious juices.
- Make the biscuits: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.
- Pour buttermilk on top. Fold everything together with a large spoon or silicone spatula until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots. Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface in this step. Using floured hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough horizontally. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4 inch thick rectangle.
- Cut into 2.75 or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough.) Re-roll/flatten any scraps and cut more circles until you have around 10-12 biscuits.
- Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (see note) or close together on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, then cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before assembling.
- Make the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Slice the biscuits in half and layer with strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Each part of this recipe can be prepared ahead of time. Make the biscuits up to 3 days in advance and store covered tightly at room temperature—or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before using. Prepare the strawberries in step 1 up to 1 day in advance. Prepare the whipped cream up to 1 day in advance. Store both in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Cutter or Food Processor | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | 3-Inch Biscuit Cutter or 2.75-Inch Biscuit Cutter | 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Flour: Starting with cold flour is helpful when making biscuits. If you can remember, place the flour in the freezer 30 minutes before beginning.
- Baking Powder: To avoid a chemical aftertaste, make sure your baking powder is labeled aluminum free. I usually use Clabber Girl brand and though the ingredients state aluminum, I’ve never noticed an aluminum aftertaste.
- Buttermilk: You can substitute whole milk for buttermilk if desired. Acidic buttermilk isn’t needed in order for the biscuits to rise since we’re using baking powder. However if you’d like the tangy flavor, which I highly recommend, you can make your own buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold milk to make 1 cup. (You need 1 cup in the recipe, plus 2 Tbsp for brushing– you can use regular milk to brush on top.) Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Whole milk is best for the DIY sour milk substitute, though lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. (In my testing, the biscuits don’t taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower fat or nondairy milks.)
- If you’re using a cast iron skillet: If your cast iron skillet isn’t well seasoned, I recommend greasing it with a little vegetable oil or melted butter. Brush a thin layer of either on the bottom and around the sides. No need to heat the cast iron skillet before using, though you certainly can by placing it in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before arranging the shaped biscuits in it.
- Older Version of This Recipe: We tested and retested this recipe based on reader feedback. Old version of this recipe called for 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour and 2 Tablespoons baking powder (no baking soda). The written recipe above yields better results with more flavorful and taller biscuits.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Got strawberries from the produce market and had to make shortcakes! This is a delicious and easy recipe. Thank you!!
These biscuits were excellent! I’m so excited that they were a lot easier than I anticipated. I’ve only made biscuits two other times in my life and so the shaggy dough that didn’t seem moist enough caused some concern. I was trying to work in the loose bits of flour into the dough without overworking it. It seemed like the dough was craggy and could at any minute have chunks fall off of it. Yet, that seemed to be perfect for the final results. They were absolutely fantastic. I was afraid I’d overcook them so I temped them at 205 degrees. They had a wonderful crispy brown outside and moist inside. Thank you so much! Sally, I love your recipes.
I made this recipe today and it is amazingly delicious! My husband and dogs loved it. I am planning on making these as part of our Easter brunch. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these yesterday , placed them in a zip lock bag overnight, today I prepared them as directed in the recipe and the dough was so hard I had to give my guests a knife to cut them. I am not a new cook , have cooked for60 years and have never had this problem what could have happen
Hi Rosemarie, we’re so sorry to hear you had troubles with this recipe. Were you sure to keep the butter and buttermilk extra cold? And fold/flatten in step 3? The biscuits should be flaky, and not tough/firm. We wonder if they were over-baked or if your flour was over-measured? Here’s more on how to properly measure flour using the spoon and level (or weight) method. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot further.
hi sally, what’s the difference between these biscuits and your regular biscuits? would i be able to use those for this strawberry shortcake? thank you 🙂
Hi Sonny, This recipe yields sweeter biscuits, so we use more sweetener/sugar. We also want more volume, so that’s why there is more butter and flour. (We didn’t add more liquid because it simply wasn’t necessary.) Enjoy!
thank you!!
i don’t have enough AP flour, add i use bread flour to complete measurement?
Hi Sonny, that should work in a pinch. The biscuits will be chewier.
I LOVE this recipe just as it is! I do have a question. I’m hoping to serve strawberry shortcakes at my daughter’s wedding and will be making dozens and dozens of these. We have thought about using a heart shaped biscuit cutter. I just did a little experiment and they’re delicious, as always, but the heart shape suffered a little bit in the baking process. I did have them packed together, but I’m wondering if you think chilling them in the freezer for a few minutes would help them look a bit shapelier? THANK YOU!
Hi Sue! You can definitely try a quick freeze of the biscuit dough before baking to see if that helps. It may take some trial and error with a different shape. Such a fun idea!
This is by FAR the BEST STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE recipe EVER!!! I absolutely LOVE it! It is so flavorful and delicious. I will never have to look for a strawberry shortcake recipe again. This is the best!
Made this recipe and it was a massive hit. Biscuits were perfect, strawberries were perfect, whipped cream was perfect. I wish that phrases like “course crumb” and “overworked” were better described as I’m still a beginner baker. Either way, will be making again.
too wet as others have pointed out also a bit much with the baking soda as it isnt required and as such cakes didn’t hold their spring. Should have reduced liquid to 3/4 cup(180ml) added more as required like a standard biscuit recipe. All ingredients were fresh and in date.
One of my favorite recipes to date!
Keep this recipe for GENERATIONS!!! I was never able to make biscuits in the past. This recipe was so easy. I used the leftover dough to make regular biscuits for dinner. Just brushed them with butter. They are so flaky and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. This is a winner!
This was a fabulous dessert! I did not have sour cream or yogurt, so I used buttermilk instead.
I just made these and they were soooo good. My whole family loved them.
This is by far the best biscuit recipe I’ve ever found!! So easy and clear and they were delicious! Flaky but still moist and great flavor!!
I loved the way the biscuits were light and buttery they cooled down fast and were very good.
thank you for the recipe i will be using that agen
This turned out good. We used a cast iron pan in the oven, the biscuits were sweet, but not too sweet.
I made this for my husband, he isn’t a huge fan of cake so the biscuit base is amazing. He absolutely loved it, and I loved that it only took an hour with minimal clean up! I recommend using a mixer though because it took me 15 minutes to whip the cream by hand. 5/5 for sure
Pe
Wonderful! These were high, flaky, and the perfect touch of sweetness. Who could ask for more? Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Can you make just one large biscuit and cut in two after baking? I want to make it for a birthday cake.
Hi Karen, we fear one large biscuit may not bake properly, but you might enjoy this strawberry shortcake cake instead!
This recipe made the best biscuits!
I’ve tried a lot of recipes I’ve never had these results. They’re light and buttery and everything I wanted them to be!
Too much butter, will tweak and try again
Hi Judy, it shouldn’t be too much butter especially if the butter is extra cold. Careful not to over-work it into the dry ingredients.
Success! I used buttermilk powder, cut rectangular biscuits to keep from having to re-roll anything, and baked them six at a time in my toaster oven to keep from heating up the kitchen too badly in the middle of the summer. They didn’t get super tall, but the flavor and texture were wonderful and they went beautifully with the berries and whipped cream.
I’ve seen other biscuit recipes that seem to cut way down on the butter and not replace it with much of anything else; I don’t know if they’re as good (there are only so many occasions to make shortcakes, y’know) but I’d love to see an update to this that might be just a little less decadent.
Wow these were good.
Simple, classic strawberry shortcake. Nothing fancy, but so delicious.