A strawberry shortcake recipe that takes just 30 minutes to make from scratch! For an easy-to-make, traditional summer treat, sweet biscuits are piled with luscious strawberries and fresh whipped cream. For extra strawberry enjoyment, try this strawberry lemon mascarpone mousse.

There are several variants of strawberry shortcake to be found in various people’s recipe collections.

Some individuals like angel food cake, while others prefer drop biscuits, and yet others prefer the yellow spongecake found in the bakery area of the grocery store.

Shudder. Sorry if you like these, but the thought of their false yellow hue and kitchen sponge feel makes my stomach turn.

Homemade strawberry shortcakes in 30 minutes

Freshly made sweet biscuits are my particular favourite, but don’t believe you have to arrange this days in advance! If you want strawberry shortcake for dessert, you can make it in 30 minutes.

In addition, we were macerating the strawberries to get just enough delicious strawberry syrup, as well as producing our own whipped cream. Within 30 minutes.

Seriously?Seriously.

Let’s start with the strawberries

As I previously said, the strawberries are the star of the show. The first step is to macerate the strawberries and let them to do their thing while you work on the biscuits and whipped cream.

What does it mean to macerate strawberries?

Doesn’t it sound violent or terrible? I’ve always thought the term macerate repulsive. But, it is the polar opposite of that and involves absolutely no effort at all.

Macerating strawberries simply means immersing the fruit in water to soften it and release its juices. In the case of this dish, we’ll mix them with lemon juice and granulated sugar.

This method not only extracts the liquid, but it also sweetens the strawberries. And it’s a no-fuss approach to make a syrup to go with your shortcake, as opposed to a stovetop technique where you have to heat it to reduce it to a specific consistency, filter it, and so on.

This two-in-one strategy is my favorite.

Can I macerate the strawberries in advance?

You certainly can! You may keep the bowls covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving. The advantage of producing them ahead of time is that their tastes will grow more concentrated and they will generate more juices.

When you’re ready to construct your shortcakes, use a slotted spoon to drain the juice from the strawberries as you plate them.

I like to pour the extra syrup to a small pitcher and let guests add as much syrup as they wish. Some individuals prefer more syrup than others and want to manage the amount of moisture and sweetness they add.

Just make sure you’ve hulled and sliced your strawberries before you begin!

How do you hull a strawberry?

To hull a strawberry, all you need is a paring knife. Hold the strawberry in one hand and the knife in the other, with the tip of the knife placed slightly off-center from the stem into the top of the strawberry. Move the knife toward the strawberry’s core.

Spin the strawberry while you guide the knife around the stem (keeping it angled), and after a complete rotation, the stem cap should come right off! A little green stalk with a cone-shaped core will be linked to it.

If that seems like too much bother, you may just chop off the top of each strawberry. You lose a bit more strawberry this way, but if that doesn’t bother you, go for it.

How to make homemade sweet biscuits

Let us now discuss the biscuits. They’re not too sweet in the sense that they taste like cake; they’re just sweet enough to compliment the luscious strawberries and mildly sweetened whipped cream.

The trick is to make the strawberries the star of the act, with the other components serving as backup dancers. Well-prepared, yet modest.

You’ll need 8 ingredients plus a food processor for my approach. I’d want to take you through the stages to explain the significance and explanation behind everything so you completely understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.

Note: If you don’t have a food processor, mix the dry ingredients together by hand and cut in the butter using a pastry cutter (aff link), however the food processor is what makes this recipe so easy.

Biscuit dough prep

While the oven is preheating to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, place the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to blend everything.

Next add the chilled butter and pulse until the mixture is grainy. You don’t need to dice the butter into tiny pieces; just slice it into tablespoon-sized squares will suffice.

Next add heavy cream and pulse to form a dough. It’ll be crumbly, which is exactly what we want!

You’ll mold it into a ball on a big silicon mat or other clean surface. If it doesn’t come together after kneading, add a little extra heavy cream and knead to mix.

2 inch CD. It doesn’t have to be precise; you simply don’t want it to be too thin, otherwise your biscuits would look like coasters. Flatten into a 1 now.

Cut the biscuits

Cut out 4 circles using a 3 biscuit cutter or the top of a drinking glass (re-rolling the dough as needed). Depending on the cutter you choose, you may have enough dough to create 5 or 6.

Don’t rotate the cutter while you press straight up and down! Twisting seals the edges of the biscuits, preventing them from rising properly in the oven.

Put the biscuits on a baking sheet fitted with a nonstick silicone mat (aff link), with the insides touching. In the same manner that you push the inner edges of cinnamon buns against one other.

Why do the biscuit edges need to be touching?

As you lay the biscuits on a baking sheet together, you want the inner edges to meet because this promotes them to adhere to each other and rise higher.

They’re each other’s small cheer squad! Isn’t it the sweetest thing ever?

Coat with cream, sprinkle with sugar

Coat the tops of each biscuit with a little heavy cream using a pastry brush. Afterwards, sprinkling with coarse sugar is optional, but for nice gravy, I suggest it. Each mouthful has a wonderful crunch to it.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown. As you create the whipped cream, let them to cool on the baking sheet.

Last, but not least – the whipped cream

Homemade whipped cream is simpler to make than you would believe.

In a medium mixing bowl, add heavy cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium speed, then raise to high and whip until soft peaks form (aff link).

That’s all! You may also create the whipped cream ahead of time and re-whip it shortly before serving.

Assembling strawberry shortcakes

Here comes the exciting part! Prepare your serving plates and cut each of your newly cooked sweet biscuits in half.

1. On each dish, place the bottom half of a biscuit.
2. Place a layer of strawberries on top.
3. Place a layer of whipped cream on top.
4. Place the second half of the biscuit on top.
5. Layer with more whipped cream and strawberries.

All that remains is to add a generous sprinkle of strawberry syrup and eat in!

Strawberry shortcakes should be served promptly to avoid becoming mushy and moist, but I doubt you’ll have any trouble finding folks to help you put these bad boys away.

Serving a crowd

This recipe is intended to be made in small batches. Nevertheless, if you have a bigger family, are having guests over, or are just having a day (treat yourself!) and need more than 4-6 servings, simply double the recipe. No further changes are required.

Make a Homemade strawberry shortcake bar to give customers control over the quantities! A pitcher of blood orange sangria, peach ros sangria, or raspberry ros sangria would be a vibrant addition to the table! Strawberry basil margaritas complement this dessert well.