Strawberry Shortcake with Brown Sugar Biscuits
One of my favorite sweet treats for summertime is this classic strawberry shortcake with homemade brown sugar biscuits. The brown sugar gives the biscuits a richness that perfectly compliments the sugar-soaked fresh strawberries I pile on top. Finish it off with a generous dollop of vanilla whipped cream, and we have a ridiculously good dessert that is perfect for backyard cookouts all summer long. Make all the components in advance and assemble these single-serve shortcake desserts as you serve them up.
Why I Love This Recipe
Strawberry shortcake is an iconic summertime dessert that takes me back to my childhood. It was always one of my mother’s favorites, so we had it often. This version is slightly different than the one I had growing up, but it is oh, so, delicious! I dare you not to lick the bowl!
- It’s tastes like summertime in a bowl — sweet, a little tangy, with a melt in your mouth texture.
- It’s easy — the process is broken down into three steps — the biscuits, the strawberries, and the whipped cream — each covered by step-by-step instructions.
- It uses fresh, in-season strawberries that are bursting with flavor. Yes, you can make it with frozen strawberries, but June and July are typically the best times of year to make it with fresh.
- It’s a kid-friendly crowd-pleaser that you’ll want to make year after year.
Making the Best Strawberry Dessert
When it comes to recipes with long ingredient lists (this one has 12!), I find it much easier to tackle when I can break them down into easy-to-manage parts. For this strawberry shortcake recipe it’s broken down into three components: the shortbread (aka brown sugar buttermilk biscuits), the strawberries (we are using lime macerated strawberries), and the whipped cream (ours is a lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream).
Each is made separately and then assembled as it’s served. If you keep a well-stocked pantry for baking, you may just have most of these items on hand. Let’s get started!
Garden-Fresh Ingredient: Strawberries
This recipe captures the deliciousness of fresh strawberries and lets them shine. If you’ve never experienced the delight that is lime-macerated strawberries, then you are in for a treat! The overall flavor is *chef’s kiss*.
While lemon is often the go-to acid for balancing the sweetness of these summer jewels, I find that lime does such a better job. Here we combine lime juice with a small amount of white sugar, which adds a little sweetness and acts as a humectant, then let our strawberries sit and macerate. The time allows the sugar and acid to break down the berries a bit, allowing them to soften and take on the flavors of the sauce, similar to adding a marinade to meat.
The result is a chunky strawberry sauce that can not be limited to just strawberry shortcake. Try them on ice cream, waffles, or layered on your favorite creme brulee.
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
How to Store and Reheat
The components of this strawberry shortcake can be made in advance and stored separately prior to assembly or saved for later. The whipped cream and strawberries should be placed in their own resealable containers and stored in the fridge, while the biscuits are best kept at room temperature. Once the strawberries and biscuits are combined, the biscuits will start to get soggy, which isn’t the best experience. So, only assemble what you are going to eat immediately.
Strawberry Shortcake with Brown Sugar Biscuits
Ingredients
Lime Macerated Strawberries
- 1 pound strawberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Brown Sugar Biscuits
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 5 tablespoons cold butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
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 Biscuits
- Start by preheating the oven to 425ºF, then pull out your stand mixer and attach the wire whisk.
- In the mixer bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, and baking soda. Chop the butter into smaller cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Turn the mixer to a low setting and let it break the butter up until it's in pea-sized bits.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, pour in your buttermilk and use a spatula to stir it together until just combined. You don't want to over-mix it. If your dough feels heavy, wet, and sticky, then it's just right.
- Add a generous layer of flour to your work surface, then turn out your dough. Add another layer of flour on top and gently pat the dough into a circle that is about 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Now it's time to cut some biscuits! I like to use a 3" wide-mouth glass or a round cookie cutter. Dip the glass into flour and carefully cut the first biscuit. Dip it again into the flour, and continue cutting out biscuits until you have 6.
- As you are cutting, the dough can be gently pushed back together to form more biscuits, but don't knead or overwork it, or you will have tough biscuits. Just allow their stickiness to bind them together.
- Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 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!
