Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (2024)

Recipe from "Jane Grigson's Fruit Book"

Adapted by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Updated Nov. 13, 2023

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (1)

Total Time
About 45 minutes
Rating
5(4,851)
Notes
Read community notes

There's a kind of magic in a summer recipe that you can make wherever you are, provided that wherever you are has, say, flour, butter, an oven and whatever fruit is most glorious is at that very moment. This strawberry shortcake is so simple that you can make it within the hour, and so satisfying that it may become your go-to for summer, the recipe you keep in your back pocket. Strawberries are the classic choice, but this would also be heavenly in high summer with very ripe peaches or any other juicy, macerated fruit. —Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Featured in: THE BERRIES: FROM FOOL TO FLUMMERY

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Ingredients

Yield:4 generous servings

  • 2pints ripe, well-rinsed strawberries
  • ½cup sugar, or more to taste
  • 4cups flour
  • 3tablespoons sugar
  • ¼teaspoon salt
  • 5teaspoons baking powder
  • cups butter
  • 3cups whipping cream
  • ¼teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1681 calories; 115 grams fat; 71 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 33 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 150 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 49 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 673 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (2)

Preparation

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  1. Step

    1

    Pick over and hull strawberries. Cut in half or slice, depending on size. Gently crush about a quarter of the berries with a fork to release their juices. Mix with remaining berries and the ½ cup of sugar, adding more sugar if necessary. Set aside, covered, for about half an hour to develop flavor.

  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

  3. Step

    3

    Into a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and baking powder. Add ¾ cup of softened butter, and rub into dry ingredients as for pastry. Add 1¼ cups cream, and mix to a soft dough. Knead the dough for one minute on a lightly floured pastry board, then roll it out to about ½-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut an even number of rounds - 2 rounds per serving.

  4. Step

    4

    Use a little of the butter to grease a baking sheet. Place half the rounds on it. Melt remaining butter and brush a little on the rounds; place remaining rounds on top. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

    Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (3)
  5. Step

    5

    Remove from the oven, and pull shortcakes apart. Brush the insides with some of the remaining melted butter.

    Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (4)
  6. Step

    6

    Beat remaining cream until it thickens. Add vanilla. Beat again just until thick.

    Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (5)
  7. Step

    7

    Place a bottom half of a shortcake on each plate. Top with a generous spoonful of cream and berries. Cover with a top half, add a few more berries, and top with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

    Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (6)

Tip

  • Extra shortcakes may be frozen, but they should be warmed before using. They are also good toasted for breakfast or tea.

Ratings

5

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4,851

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Amanda

At 450, the bottoms started burning well before the insides of the biscuits were cooked. We lowered to baking temperature to 375, and things turned out well. So I'd suggest adjusting the baking temperature in this recipe.

nancy harmon jenkins

Such fun to see a recipe I published more than 30 years ago spring back to life again--the beauty of the NYT recipe collection. I see the point some made, that the recipe makes far more than 4 servings but back home in Maine at this time of year when our native berries are at their luscious peak, strawberry shortcake is often served on its own as a substantial supper, what we call in Italy a piatto unico, nothing else. In that case, it's just about right for 4 people, with healthy seconds.

Marion

This is a great shortcake recipe. I questioned it while I was making it, but it works! I used the food processor to cut in the butter because it was too cold, then switched to fingers to finish blending it in. When I added the cream, I thought it was never going to come together, but that minute's worth of kneading did the trick. I have other recipes for biscuits, but this is what I'll be using from now on. Crisp, short and delicious.

Patricia

Super recipe!! I used the food processor from start to finish,did not knead the dough,rolled it out and proceeded with the instructions. Found that when the dough was resting between batches,made about a dozen,doubled biscuits,it rose better than the first batch. So maybe next time I will let the dough sit for a few minutes before using the 3 inch biscuit cutter. Delicious!

Elaine Gould

FYI In the NY Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, copyright 1961, it calls for adding a bit of sour cream to the whipped cream. It is a fantastic addition. The sour cream puts a bit of weight to the cream making it richer. Also, I suggest putting some of the whipped cream inside the "sandwich" and more on the top.

stephanie

penultimate means second to last

Robert Owen

I don't mean to sound like the language police, but "penultimate" means 'next-to-last', implying that some other recipe is yet better. To mean 'the best ever' use "ultimate".

Pattie

I always use brown sugar to macerate strawberries. Deepens the berry flavor and the resulting juice is more intense. Reduce measure by half.

Moya

Rather than rolling out the dough after kneading and using a biscuit cutter, I rolled the dough into a log, and then cut the dough in 1" slices. I baked them for 15 min without the butter on top. They were delicious! And way more than 4 servings, more like 12 with everyone getting a single slice of shortbread (which was very rich so more than enough!)

Kathleen

This is the penultimate strawberry shortcake recipe. Just sweet enough without overpowering the natural sweetness of the berries. I have died and gone to heaven....

Lara

IMHO best shortcake recipe ever! I only had white whole wheat flour and half and half (not cream) but seemed to work perfectly! I had the advantage of reading the previous comments, so I made the dough into a ball and patted it into an 8 inch round disk and cut it into 6 thick wedges. Cooked at 450 for 10 minutes and split the wedges in half to serve-crisp on the outside, tender (but fully cooked) on the inside-thank you!!

pam

I use 1 1/2 cups self-rising and 2 1/2 cups AP and place the shortcakes close together on baking sheet. This creates a shortcake that rises high enough to split in the middle instead of using 2 shortcakes. Better for soaking up strawberry juice. Yummy.

elle

There's a lot of discussion about oven temperatures. Please recognize that the test kitchen has an oven that is exactly calibrated and many home ovens are not. If you set it at 450, it might be 500; conversely, if you set it at 450, it might be 350. One hundred degree swings in home ovens are common. PLEASE invest in a good oven thermometer so you can take the guess work and burned bottoms out of your baking!

Helen

Don't be put off by the rolling and cutting if you're used to dropping shortcake batter onto a baking sheet. These are INCREDIBLE. Even better when soaking up a bit of sweet strawberry juice.

Lisa Toronto

Misread recipe & rubbed all of cold butter in dough. Used 2" rounds chilled 30 min. didn't butter tops. biscuits were perfect. Recipe serves FAR more than 4. Served 8 w/ 1/2 dough left. ¾ cup butter to grease pan & brush tops can't be right. ¾ cup of whipt cream served 8 generously with lots left over. Usedt 2 pints relatively small local berries, quartered, & had about 1 ½ cups left. Net,net great recipe all the butter is used in dough. Serves far more than 4.

Caroline from MN

Recipe did not work so well for me and needed nearly 2 cups of cream to bring ingredients together. I did add the zest of 3 tangerines and the end result was incredible.

Linda

Made the biscuit exactly as the recipe and even checked my oven temp which was exactly 450º. I agree with others that that temp was too high. The biscuits rose properly, but the bottoms started to burn so I took them out. The centers of the biscuits were a bit undercooked. I will reduce the oven temp next time.

Cheryl

The best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever made - got rave reviews - I doubled the recipe and made smaller biscuits for a crowd - split each biscuit/per serving / there was plenty - just made more whipped cream and strawberries - a little less than 2” diameter (used a small drinking glass for a cookie cutter). Cooked at recipe temp. for 15 minutes - worked well for my oven..Used brown sugar with the berries. Truly spectacular.

DSW

Needs more sugar. Little disappointed

It's You

The strawberries were native to Times Square I used 12 and then disposed of all of the others.

wendyonmaui

Wary of the 450 degree suggestion, I baked the dough in a circle cut into wedges at 400. It took about 25 minutes and turned out perfectly brown and cooked through. Even though I made 6 wedges, I ended up splitting the wedges because they seemed waaay too big for a single serving. Frankly, one could halve the recipe if serving 4. They were delicious.

wendyonmaui

These biscuits turned out to be a real crowd pleaser.. I followed the recipe except added enough to make six servings. We were at a high elevation so I needed to bake them about twice as long as the recipe called for but they rose up and had a bunch of flaky layers. I would totally bake these again. My friends all wanted the recipe. These are 800 times better than Bisquick.

TOM G

Needlessly fussy. You could use Bisquick. It is ridiculously expensive so make your own Bisquick. Google the recipe I read a tip on another website. Bake in a loaf pan and slice a serving piece. I have glass loaf pans, so reduce the heat to 380 degrees. It’s a “quick bread,” so if you use a food processor, as I did, be careful not to over process.

James

This came out perfectly. It was one of the few times when a dessert recipe I’ve made looks like the recipe picture at the end. My wife and 10 year old son both said it was the best strawberry shortcake they had ever had. I subbed an 1/8 tsp of almond extract for the vanilla and added a small handful of chiffonaded mint to the berries.

Summer Sweetness on a Plate

Delicious! And so easy! The shortcake was so tender and paired perfectly with the sweet strawberries. I didn’t double up the shortcakes like described but it worked and helped stretch the dessert among a large group. Highly recommend!

Caroline

What it lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in simplicity. Take care not to overknead biscuits when working with leftovers in subsequent batches

KBF

I read through the helpful comments and made these side by side with Kenji's 5 ingredient shortcakes. I also found this recipe to produce shortcakes that were beautiful but very metallic? bitter? from too much baking powder- and I had even reduced the BP by 20%. I also found them to be a bit bland and suggest more salt and more sugar. The 5 ingredient shortcakes were paler but the preferred flavor/texture of our group.

yolanda

Followed directions exactly and they were delicious ! Agree that this recipe makes enough for double .

Yawn Y. Times

Per other commenters, 450 is far, far too hot. These burn by 10 minutes - suggest 375-400.

servings too big

I like the consistency but instead of 4 could easily make 12 much smaller servings. Use the 2 in circle instead of 3 inch circle. Or just use 1 biscuit per serving. I cut back on the sugar as well. More strawberries would be better

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Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (2024)

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