Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
Nothing says summer quite like a heaping bowl of homemade strawberry shortcake. The juicy berries, tender shortcake, and fresh whipped cream come together to make a dessert perfect for warm nights and potluck parties. So, preheat your oven and pull out your mixing bowls. This is a recipe you’ll come back to all summer long.
A Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Growing up, my mother loved fruity desserts like strawberry brownies and strawberry rhubarb crisp, but strawberry shortcake was always one of her favorites and often a staple for her homemade Mother’s Day meal. It was simple and sweet, with a big dollop of whipped cream and an extra pour of strawberry syrup. I can still see the look of pure delight on her face the last time I made it for her.
The recipe I’m sharing with you today is based on my mom’s original, but with a couple of tweaks. We start with a classic strawberry shortcake recipe and fancy it up with cardamom brown sugar biscuits, lime macerated strawberries, and vanilla whipped cream. It’s an elegant spin on the strawberry shortcake you’ve always loved and a perfect summertime treat.
The result is a strawberry shortcake that is a bit more decadent and a bit less sweet. While her tastes were a bit more simple than mine, I really believe that she would have loved this recipe. Read on to learn what I’ve changed, then get ready to start baking!
Homemade Shortcake
In my mom’s recipe for strawberry shortcake, we always used my grandma’s biscuit recipe and added a good dose of white sugar to turn it from a biscuit to a cake. Since shortcake is defined as being a sweet cake or biscuit, this totally fits the bill.
Often I’d take the whole batch of dough, turn it out into a buttered and floured 9×9 pan and bake it as a single cake. I remember it being dense and sweet. While you can do that, as a household of two I prefer individual strawberry shortcakes, so I cut it into biscuits. Since we won’t eat it all in one sitting (or rather we shouldn’t) individual biscuits makes it easier to freeze the leftovers, and they make an easy grab and go for breakfast.
Sugar and Spice
The other thing I wanted to change about this biscuit is to give it more depth, which I achieved through a combination of brown sugar and cardamom.
Brown sugar is more complex than standard white sugar with flavors of molasses, caramel, and toffee. As foods with brown sugar are browned in the oven these flavors develop even further. While this substitution in itself made a huge difference, I went one step further with the addition of cardamom.
Cardamom is a spice used around the world in sweet and savory applications, although it’s less common in the USA. It has a strong, distinct aroma and flavor that can take a number of baked goods from okay to wow. A little goes a long way. In this recipe you could also substitute an equal part of ground ginger or cinnamon as a tasty alternative, or omit it all together.
The Strawberries
The strawberries that go on strawberry shortcake should be sweet and syrupy, a texture reached by maceration. Maceration is when you use an acid or simple sugar to draw the natural juices out of fruit. It takes between 30 minutes and overnight, but the result is tender fruit and a naturally flavored syrup.
You can use wine, liquor, citrus juice, vinegar, honey, sugar, or vanilla extract to macerate fruit. You can even toss in a bit of spice (like cardamom) or herbs (like basil) if you like. Where I come from we would just bury the berries in sugar and nothing more. While this made a delightfully sweet treat, the flavor of strawberry can be clouded by the flavor of sugar, something my adult palate and adult waistline don’t need.
Today we are making sugar and lime macerated strawberries. I find it balances just enough sweet with just enough acid to make the berry taste come alive. I use a fraction of the sugar from the original recipe, but according to my mom the strawberries tasted better than ever with this change.
The Whipped Cream
Making homemade whipped cream is as simple as pouring heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract into the bowl of your mixer and turning it on. Within 3 – 5 minutes, the cream will thicken and form medium soft peaks.
I choose not to sweeten mine, but if you must, add a dash of sugar (either granulated or powdered) at the beginning and scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to make sure the sugar mixes in completely.
If you want to get really fancy, you can make strawberry whipped cream for your strawberry shortcake. Simply add a tablespoon or two of the strawberry syrup created by macerating your strawberries before you whip the cream. It will turn the whipped cream into a beautiful, soft, pink, cloud like creation.
Assembling your Strawberry Shortcake
To assemble your shortcake, gently tear one biscuit in half so that you have a top and bottom. If it doesn’t tear easily, run a fork around it like you would an English muffin. Start with the bottom half of the cardamom brown sugar biscuit in the bottom of the bowl. Top with lime macerated strawberries, a bit of extra strawberry syrup, and vanilla whipped cream. Tuck the top of the biscuit along the side so that it can start to soak up a bit of the syrup while you eat the bottom.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
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- 3″ round biscuit cutter
- mixing bowls
- whisk or stand mixer
- spatula and mixing spoon
- cutting board and knife
- cooling rack
Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
With brown sugar cardamom biscuits, lime macerated strawberries, and vanilla whipped cream, this strawberry shortcake is an elegant dessert that is made to impress. You can easily double or triple it to serve a crowd and even make it a day in advance to make your life easier. I hope it becomes a sweet treat that you come back to again and again all summer long.
Leftover biscuits can be kept at room temperature for around 3 days or frozen for longer storage. Macerated berries and whipped cream can be refrigerated for 3 – 5 days.
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Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
Lime Macerated Strawberries
- 1 lb strawberries
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Brown Sugar Cardamom Biscuits
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cardamom (*see notes)
- 5 tbsp cold butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Lime Macerated Strawberries
- The strawberries must rest for at least 30 minutes** before assembling the shortcakes, so start with them first.
- Clean your berries and remove the stems. Slice or quarter berries and place in a medium size mixing bowl.
- Add in sugar and lime juice, stir to coat, allow to rest at least 30 minutes.
Brown Sugar Cardamom Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl measure out the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, soda, and cardamom. Stir to combine.
- Chop cold butter into smaller cubes. Add the butter to the flour mixture and break it up until the butter is in pea sized bits. You can do this by hand, using a pastry cutter, or with the wire whisk attachment of a stand mixer.
- Add buttermilk and mix to combine. Dough will be heavy, wet, and slightly sticky.
- Liberally flour your work surface and turn out out your dough. Add more flour on top and gently pat dough until it’s about 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Use a 3″ round cookie cutter or a wide mouth glass to stamp out biscuits. Make sure to dip the cookie cutter or glass into flour between each biscuit to keep it from sticking.
- A 3″ cutter will make about 6 biscuits. Dough can be gently pushed back together to form more biscuits, but don’t kneed it and don’t overwork it or you will have tough biscuits.
- Bake biscuits for 15 – 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.**
- Turn mixer up to medium speed and allow cream to thicken. Whipped cream will double in size as it whips. It should take 2 – 3 minutes to start to thicken, then a minute or two more until medium soft peaks form. Careful not to over whip it, or it will turn into butter.
Assembling The Shortcakes
- Split one biscuit in half so that you have a top and bottom piece. Place the bottom piece in the bottom of a small dessert bowl. Top with strawberries, some extra syrup, and the whipped cream. Place the top of the biscuit on the side, resting on the whipped cream. Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is for general information purposes only. For the most accurate information, calculate using your select brands and exact measurements.
I absolutely love what you have done with taking this classic up a notch! Now I want to try cardamom in my biscuits!
You totally reminded me that I need to re-shoot my strawberry shortcake recipe! I love that you used lime to macerate the strawberries, and the cardamon in the biscuits is a great idea!
Thanks Danielle!!