Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits are one of my favorite spring and summer dessert. These biscuits are sky-high, super flakey and buttery. They’re layered with juicy, sweet strawberries and topped with the fluffiest sweet whipped cream.
Every summer during my wondrous childhood, my mom would buy these mini sponge cakes that they would sell in cellophane packaging. Next to it was always this strawberry fake-tasting syrup. She would buy them, along with a huge flat of strawberries. This grocery shopping day would make me joyful, truly.
That syrup was probably awful, filled with lots of corn syrup and other garbage but I didn’t care. I loved the strawberry combo with cake and syrup and whipped cream. She’s simple.
What is Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits?
Strawberry shortcake is a dessert that consists of macerated strawberries and a cake. The cake is usually in the form of a yellow cake, a sponge cake or in this case, a biscuit. It’s topped with either whipped cream or ice cream.
Sponge Cake Vs. Biscuit Shortcake
Listen, I appreciate strawberry shortcake of all kinds. I am equal opportunity when it comes to this type of dessert. I think there are positives in the sponge cake category and biscuit category. When it comes to ease, effort, vibe…I will always be team biscuit.
It’s easier, you can make it ahead, you can freeze it. And who doesn’t love a buttery, flaky biscuit? So, this is why you’re seeing this recipe with a biscuit vs. a sponge cake.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Ahead:
I love these biscuits and they are the first step in achieving these short cakes. What’s awesome about this combo of a recipe is the following:
- You can make the biscuits up to two weeks before but don’t bake them. Make the dough, roll them out, stamp them out and then freeze them.
- You can bake them off the day when you’re serving them.
- The rest comes together in a breeze. All you’ll have to do is mix together the strawberries and the sugar an make the whipped cream.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits:
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.
- Add the butter. Grate in the butter using a box grater then use your hands to toss the butter together with the dry ingredients and integrate until the butter is the size of small peas.
- Add the liquids. Whisk together the buttermilk and the egg and add to the bowl with the flour and butter. Mix just until it comes together.
- Knead. Knead the dough with your hands just to help everything evenly combine.
- Cut it out. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 3/4″ thickness. Cut out the biscuits, then re-roll the scraps only once and cut again.
- Egg wash. Chill the biscuits if needed then brush with egg wash and bake until tall and golden brown.
- Make the filling. Toss the strawberries with the rest of the ingredients and set aside.
- Whip the cream. Just until it’s holding it’s shape. Very soft peaks are key here.
- Serve. Split the biscuits in half, top with strawberries and whipped cream and top with the other half of the biscuit.
Strawberry Shortcakes Biscuits
Ingredients
Biscuits:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter straight from the fridge
- 1/2 cup buttermilk cold and shaken
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon egg + 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
Strawberries:
- 1 pound strawberries stems removed (hulled) and quartered and sliced
- 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
To Make the Biscuits:
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture. Transfer the bowl to the freezer while you gather the wet ingredients, about 5-7 minutes.
- Measure out the buttermilk and add the egg; whisk until combined. In a small bowl, make the egg wash, whisking together the egg and milk. Transfer both to the refrigerator.
- Grab the bowl out of the freezer, and gently break up the butter and combine with the flour, using your hands, until it resembles small peas. Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Mix until barely combined; and lightly knead the dough. until it forms one solid mass. Sprinkle your kitchen counter with flour and dump the dough onto it. Press the dough into a 3/4-inch thickness.
- Cut out the biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, ending up with about 6 biscuits. You can recombine the scraps and get 2 more biscuits. Transfer them to the baking sheet.
- If you think you’ve been moving a little slow (like I was because I was..ahem..taking pictures), stick the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes. This will get the bits of butter nice and cold again.
- After the biscuits are cold, whisk the egg and a tablespoon of water together to create the egg wash and bake in oven or 10 to 15 minutes, until tall and medium golden brown.
To Make the Strawberries:
- In a small bowl, mix together the strawberries, sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt. Allow to stand and macerate for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Pour in the heavy cream and beat using a hand-held electric mixer or a stand-up mixer for about 1 to 2 minutes, until soft and pillowy.
To Assemble the Strawberry Shortcakes:
- Assemble the shortcakes by slicing the biscuits in half. Add a spoonful of strawberries and top with a big dollop of whipped cream. Repeat until you’ve worked your way through all of the biscuits.
Notes
- You can make the biscuits up to two weeks before but don’t bake them. Make the dough, roll them out, stamp them out and then freeze them.
- You can bake them off the day when you’re serving them.
- The rest comes together in a breeze. All you’ll have to do is mix together the strawberries and the sugar an make the whipped cream.
Nutrition
Did you make these strawberry shortcakes biscuits? Let me know on Instagram!
Looking for more Summer recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Made this for Father’s Day. I made one large ‘biscuit’ that I cut in half for a 2-layered dessert for all. (Each layer biscuit, strawberries, whipped cream.)
I used yr recipe because it had an egg in it and I thought it wld hold together better as one big biscuit. I added 1/4 c sugar. 1 tsp kosher salt was too salty.
This was more like the Bisqwick style my mom used to make in the 70’s.
Both my parents have recalled having one large strawberry shortcake as their family’s entire dinner when in season in the 1930’s-40’s.
Wld love to share my picture.
Just made this tonight. Was so simple to throw together. I omitted the egg wash but other than that followed the recipe. Will definitely make again!
i LOVED those sponge cakes! so good. my mom would do the sugared strawberries and then i’d cover everything in cool whip.
I’m in LOVE with your presentation! These look like beautifully sweet strawberry-filled biscuits that would fit perfectly for a wedding or a tea party. And hey, if you can produce delicious pastries with real whole foods ingredients, then you’re elevating the sensory quality of them too!
Hi,
What’s the 1 tablespoons of alt for the biscuits?
ahh sorry about that. i clarified. it’s for the egg wash. thanks!
Hi! I was wondering the same thing, is alt an ingredient I haven’t heard of? Can’t seem to find an answer on google.
Excited to bake these!
hi! do you live in the U.S.?
These biscuits look so light and fluffy! And I love the idea of mixing a typically savory biscuit with something sweet for a dessert!
Hi adrianna,
I made them today and I kind of over mixed the butter and flour when I wasn’t supposed to and kept in the fridge. And when I took it out , I mixed again and it already formed a dough type. Later I added the milk-egg mixture, the whole batter is now liquidy instead of holding it in like a dough !
What do I do ???
I still have a soft spot in my memory for those sponge cake and syrup concoctions, even if I absolutely don’t want to know what was in them! This version looks wonderful! I never thought of using an egg wash on my shortcakes – will have to try it!
I am a sweet teeth person! Send some here dear! xoxo
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wow!!!!I like it very much.It Seems appetite.