Strawberry Shortcakes with Biscuits
Tender, buttery sweet cream biscuits combined with a heap of strawberries for a lovely spring strawberry shortcake dessert.
Servings: 8 to 10 shortcakes
Calories: 546kcal
Ingredients
For the Shortcake Biscuits
- 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 1 egg, whisked (for egg wash)
For the Berries
- 2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 3 to 4 cups)
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup sugar, maybe less depending on the sweetness of the berries
For the Whipped Cream
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 rounded tablespoon powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Berries
- Combine the hulled, quartered strawberries in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Toss and let sit for at least 30 minutes, or up to two hours.
For the Shortcakes
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well mixed. Add the butter pieces and, using your hands, work the butter through the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal with small peas. Do not over-mix.
- Add the cream and use your fingers to "stir" it in to the butter-flour mixture, maybe kneading once or twice, just until the dough has formed a shaggy mass.
- Turn the biscuit dough onto a lightly-floured surface and pat into a flat round. Dust the top of the biscuit dough with flour, and use a rolling pin or the flat of your hand into a 6" circle. The dough will be about 1" thick.
- Use a 2" to 2 1/2" round biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits. Place them on a baking sheet, leaving at least an inch of space between each. Lightly brush the tops with egg.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown, rotating halfway. Let cool slightly before splitting and serving.
For the Strawberries
- While the biscuits are baking, combine the sliced strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Toss to combine.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve, or up to three hours.
For the Whipped Cream and to Finish
- Whip the cold, heavy cream to soft peaks. Add the sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip until medium-stiff peaks form. Do not over-whip the cream or it will look grainy. Refrigerate until use.(Pro tip: Heavy cream will not whip up unless it is very cold.)
- Split the biscuits in half and place the bottom half on the dish. Spoon a generous amount of strawberries (with some juice) onto the biscuits. Top with the other biscuit half and a dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
Making the Strawberry Shortcakes in Advance
You can make each of the components in advance (biscuits, strawberries, whipped cream), but save the assembly until right before you serve them so the biscuits stay fresh and don't get soggy or tough. Here's how: Making Biscuits in Advance: Biscuits are best fresh from the oven. The longer baked biscuits sit, the tougher they will become. But you can make the biscuit dough, roll it, and cut it in advance, thanks to help from the freezer. If you’d like to make the dough in advance, make the dough, roll it out, cut it into circles, and freeze each round, covered and evenly spaced on a baking sheet lined with parchment. You can bake the biscuits from frozen; they will just take a few more minutes to bake. Making the Strawberry Topping in Advance: The longer strawberries sit in sugar, the more moister will get drawn out of them. You can trim and cut your strawberries up to two days in advance, and add the sugar up to three hours in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Making Whipped Cream in Advance Whipped cream will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days. It will lose loft the longer it is stored, but you can rewhip it with a whisk prior to serving.Nutrition
Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 445mg | Potassium: 466mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 1168IU | Vitamin C: 143mg | Calcium: 204mg | Iron: 3mg
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
