Strawberry Shortcakes with Cream Biscuits

 

A couple weeks ago we went strawberry picking at Buckwheat Farm not very far from our house.  It was a pretty normal strawberry picking experience, but we got really into it and ended up picking 2 gallons of strawberries!  We eat a lot of strawberries as a family, but we needed a game plan to use up all of these strawberries from our overzealous picking.  First I made a batch of strawberry jam, but then there were still a lot more strawberries.  So we decided to make strawberry shortcakes with cream biscuits! 

Jump to:

• Biscuits v. Angel Food Cake 
• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Assemble the Strawberry Shortcakes with Cream Biscuits 
• Looking for more strawberry recipes?
• Recipe

Biscuits v. Angel Food Cake 

Strawberry shortcakes in the United States are made in a variety of ways: some recipes use buttermilk biscuits, while others use angel food cake.  You’ve been in the produce section, and there is always a display of premade angel food cakes conveniently located right next to the strawberries.   This strawberry shortcake recipe is made with a lightly sweetened  cream biscuit instead of angel food cake.  Just wanted to get that out of the way before you read further!  

Ingredients

• Strawberries
• Sugar
• Lemon juice
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Heavy cream
• Store bought whipped cream

Equipment

• Bowl
• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Measuring cups
• Juicer
• Cookie Sheet 
• 2 inch biscuit cutter 
• Rolling pin (optional)

The Main Ingredient: Strawberries 

Strawberries are the showstopper for strawberry shortcakes.   To prep them, make sure you wash them and remove the green top before slicing.  Choose a bowl with a lid and toss the strawberries, a bit of sugar and lemon juice in the bowl.  Carefully stir this together and then cover the bowl for at least one hour.  Over time the strawberries will release their juices making the perfect “sauce” for the strawberry shortcakes. 

How to Make Strawberry Shortcakes

1.  Get the strawberries together.  First you’ll need to wash the strawberries. I used to submerge strawberries in water with a tablespoon of baking soda, until I read this article from Serious Eats.  Now I submerge my strawberries in water that is 125ºF for 30 seconds.  Then I drain the water and spin the strawberries in a salad spinner to remove the excess water.   The method doesn’t matter as much as making sure the strawberries are clean before slicing them. 
2. Hull and Slice  the Strawberries.  Hull and slice the strawberries.  The slices should be fairly even.  Pull out a bowl that has a lid and put all of the strawberries in that bowl. 
3. Taste Test. Now taste a strawberry and note how sweet or sour they are.  If the strawberries are very sweet, use less sugar in the next step.  But if the strawberries are more sour, use a little more sugar. 
4. Toss the strawberries.  Sprinkle the sugar and lemon juice over the strawberries. Stir everything together with a flexible spatula until the sugar is mostly dissolved.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least an hour and up to overnight. 

Make the Shortcake Cream Biscuits

• Preheat the oven to 450ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together the  all purpose flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  
• Create a well in the bowl and pour in the heavy cream all at once.  Stir until the flour is moistened and the dough starts to come together. The dough might seem a little on the dry side.  Trust the process. 

•  Turn the dough out on a clean, lightly floured surface.  Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold into thirds, rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the fold.  Roll or pat  the dough out to ½ inch thickness.  
• Dust a 2 inch biscuit cutter in flour and cut out 6-8 biscuits.  Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet.  For softer biscuits, let the biscuits touch.  To make crispier biscuits, leave a couple inches between biscuits on the cookie sheet. 
• Optional: Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with sugar.  
•  Baking for 12-15 minutes. 

Assemble the Strawberry Shortcakes with Cream Biscuits 

• Slice the warm biscuit in half. 
• Add a layer of strawberries
• Then a dollop of whipped cream
• Put the top of the biscuit on top of the whipped cream
• Top the biscuit with more whipped cream and strawberries. 

Tips and Tricks

• Make Juicing the Lemon Easier.   I don’t know about y’all, but I keep my lemons in the fridge to help them last longer. But the reality is that lemon juice is easier to squeeze when it’s warm.  Think about the lemon groves in Florida– it’s H-O-T hot down there.  So to replicate that Florida heat, microwave the lemon.   How to do it:  Remove the sticker rinse and dry the lemon.  Place the whole lemon in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, depending on the size of the lemon.  The lemon should be warm to the touch.   Pro Tip: If you microwave the lemon for too long, it will explode.  Ask me how I know that 🙂 
• Only have self rising flour?  No problem!  Use the same amount of flour and reduce the amount of baking ½ teaspoon of baking powder to the flour.  Don’t add any extra salt. 

Hot Biscuits or Cool?

My husband and I also debated this point fiercely.  Should Strawberry Shortcakes be hot or cold?  My husband argued (effectively!) that a warm biscuit would make it feel like a cobbler and I was sold. The contrast between the hot biscuit and the cold strawberries and even colder whipped cream was fantastic. 

If you are making this for an after dinner dessert, I would cut the biscuits out and place them on the cookie sheet and wrap the sheet in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.  The best part about strawberry shortcakes is that everyone could, in theory, assemble their shortcake. 

A Note on Whipped Cream

A strawberry shortcake isn’t complete without the whipped cream. You can make whipped cream yourself or  you can use store made.  We happened to have a can of Reddi-Whip in the refrigerator so that’s what we used. 

Looking for more strawberry recipes?

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