My motto is “there’s never a bad time for strawberries”. This is especially true in the summer in the Pacific Northwest. Strawberries are in abundance. In the grocery stores. At Costco. And at u-pick farms. I’ve been picking berries since I was a kid, and there’s just something about going to a farm, trudging up and down the rows of berries and finding them hidden under the leaves.
This year in Oregon, our strawberry season seemed to come earlier than in past years. We’ve had such a weird, hot summer. People joke that summer doesn’t start until July 4th here. We’ve had several stretches of above 90 degrees, which for this area, is very unusual. The early heat we experienced pushed berry season to earlier than I think most people expected.
With the availability of so many kinds of berries, it’s so fun to experiment and try new things. But there will always be a place for strawberry shortcake. I love this dessert so much, that I wouldn’t have a problem making this in March 🙂
These shortcakes are much different than what I had growing up. Bisquick was used for everything. When I first started baking as a newlywed, I’d scour cookbooks and magazines to find interesting recipes. Such a different time! Now, you just do a google or Pinterest search, and all kinds of things pop up.
These are so good – light and fluffy, topped with sparkling sugar. Look at those layers!
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Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
- 2 cups|10 ounces flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, grated
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, straight from fridge
For the strawberries:
- 6 heaping cups|2 pounds fresh, whole strawberries
- 3 to 5 ounces sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the whipped cream:
- 1/2 cup|4 ounces sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups|12 ounces heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the strawberries:
- Wash and dry strawberries and remove stems.
- Slice into 1/4 inch thickness.
- Toss with sugar and salt and let stand about an hour at room temp.
For the biscuits:
- Place stick of butter in freezer. Leave for 8-10 minutes.
- Move rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour and baking powder into medium bowl. Whisk in sugar and salt.
- Grate butter into flour mixture and toss, coating the butter.
- Stir in buttermilk with a spatula, until the dough starts to come together. Do not over mix. It will be slightly sticky.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with more flour, and pat into a 6 inch square. Fold it in half, pat into a square again, and repeat the process two more times. Pat the dough into 3/4 inch thickness and use 2 1/2 inch round cutter to cut as many biscuits as you can.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and place rounds two inches apart. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top.
For the cream:
- Combine sugar, salt, cream, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Mix on medium low for about a minute to dissolve the sugar.
- Increase to medium high and whip until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate until needed, up to 8 hours. Store leftovers for up to 1 week, rewhipping to restore its light texture.
Notes
I prefer slightly freezing the butter and grating it into the mixture, but you can also cut butter into cubed pieces, place in a shallow bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, and then use a pastry blender to cut into flour mixture.
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