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Homemade Strawberry Shortcake is the essence of summer and is meant to be enjoyed throughout the summer. It consists of 3 ingredients: fresh sweet strawberries, flaky sweet biscuits, and homemade whipped cream. The biscuit recipe is made with butter and half-n-half giving the biscuits a cake-like texture perfect for holding the sweet juicy strawberries. If you want to impress your family with an easy and delicious dessert than give this recipe a try.

Strawberry shortcake on a small plate with a bowl of strawberries and another strawberry shortcake in the background.

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This recipe is one of my favorites and I'm so happy to share it with you. I love, love Oregon strawberries, and I wait anxiously every year for the start of strawberry season in Oregon (which starts in late April or early May). The berries are sweet and juicy and so delicious. I buy them every week for eating and baking. Strawberry shortcake is also a favorite because this is the dessert I make every year for Mother's Day.

About This Recipe

This Strawberry Shortcake recipe starts with sweet buttery homemade biscuits. The biscuits are made with butter and half-n-half which gives them a cake-like texture perfect for soaking up all that strawberry juice. The whipped cream is lightly sweetened and billowy and the strawberries are bright red, juicy, and sweet.

This shortcake is easy to assemble and the combination of cream, fruit, and buttery shortcake makes the most amazing mouthful. For extra indulgence spread the warm biscuits with soft butter before topping with strawberries.

And if you came to this recipe because you like strawberries too, consider trying these recipes:

Strawberry Almond Cake
Strawberry Filled Vanilla Cupcakes
Homemade Strawberry Soda (made with homemade Strawberry Simple Syrup)

Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients

Homemade strawberry shortcake is so easy to make. Here is some information about the key ingredients to make the best version possible:

Fresh Strawberries: Use in-season fresh strawberries for the best results. The berries should be naturally sweet and red in the center. The sweeter the strawberries the less sugar you'll need for the berries.
Homemade Sweet Biscuits: Use this recipe for sweet shortcake biscuits. These biscuits are tender, flaky, and sweeter than regular biscuits making them perfect for dessert. The recipe uses a folding method which ensures they rise nise and high.
Heavy Cream: For the best results, whip up some heavy cream right before serving the strawberry shortcake. The cream is sweetened based on your tastes. I use powdered sugar because the cornstarch in the sugar helps stabilize the whipped cream. If you don't have powdered sugar, use granulated sugar.

Strawberry shortcake ingredients - fresh sliced strawberries in a bowl, heavy cream, pure vanilla extract, homemade sweet biscuits, powdered sugar, granulated sugar

Use Fresh Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake

For the best flavor use in-season local strawberries, even if you have to wait a few weeks for them to arrive. The strawberry filling consists of just two ingredients: fresh sliced strawberries and sugar. The sugar draws the moisture out of the strawberries creating a delicious sweet syrup that soaks into the sweet shortcake biscuit. This process is called maceration, it softens and sweetens the fruit

Make the strawberry filling before you make the biscuits to give the strawberries time to develop the liquid. Taste the berries before the sugar is added. Naturally sweet strawberries need less sugar, so you may end up using half the sugar called for in the recipe.

cut strawberries in a large bowl with lemon juice

Sweet Shortcake Biscuits (Use Cold Butter)

Use this recipe for Shortcake Biscuits for the strawberry shortcake. This shortcake recipe uses a combination of butter and half-n-half to make a flaky biscuit that has a tender crumb that is more cake-like, making it perfect for dessert.

Make sure the butter and half-n-half are cold when adding them to the dough. Cold butter is key to achieving those flaky layers.

Use a biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits, do not use a glass or some other device with rounded edges. Biscuit cutters have a sharp edge that will produce a clean cut that allows the biscuits to rise.

Sweet shortcake biscuits piled in a clothe-covered basket

Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade whipped cream is easy to make and has just 3 ingredients: heavy cream, powdered sugar, and pure vanilla extract. I prefer slightly sweetened whipped cream so I use 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar for 2 cups of heavy cream. You can use more or less to your tastes.

Make the whipped cream right before serving the strawberry shortcake and ideally, while the biscuits are still warm.

Place the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extra in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip on medium speed until soft peaks form.

How to Assemble the Strawberry Shortcake

After the biscuits are baked, let them cool slightly and serve them while still warm. Split the biscuit in half, spoon strawberries and some of the juice over the biscuit, then add whipped cream and more berries. Top with the other biscuit half and add more whipped cream and strawberries.

The biscuits are best served warm, but you can wait until completely cooled. See the biscuit recipe for information on how to store leftover biscuits.

Which Strawberries to Use for Strawberry Shortcake

I'm a big believer in using local in-season fruit. Local fresh strawberries are the best option for this strawberry shortcake recipe. Here are some strawberry varieties that are great for strawberry shortcake:

Hood Strawberries - small and sweet with a short season in early June
Albion - these berries are large and firm and available for several months of the year
Mary's Peak - a new variety from Oregon, these berries are medium-sized and sweet

Here is a list of strawberry varieties by state so you can find your new favorite.

To prepare the berries, wash them off with a spray of water. Don't soak them in water or they will become waterlogged. Dry the berries off and then slice them thick or thin depending on how you like them. Place the strawberries in a large bowl and add the sugar.

If you make this seriously delicious strawberry shortcake please leave a rating and a comment below. If you have questions email me and I'll be happy to help.

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