Classic Strawberry Shortcake
on Apr 28, 2023, Updated Jun 27, 2025
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These individual strawberry shortcakes are THE dessert to make in spring and summer. They are gorgeous, with two layers of biscuits, strawberries and whipped cream.
Making strawberry shortcake is much easier than you might think. These individual double decker strawberry shortcakes are made with two layers of biscuits, whipped cream, and juicy strawberries.
Biscuits are simple to make; don’t overwork them, they will be lovely and flaky. Making whipped cream is as simple as holding a hand mixer. And tossing strawberries with sugar to macerate them and bring out their juiciness and sweetness takes no time at all.
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“This is a delicious dessert my whole family loves! They would like me to make it every week!” – Tiffany
The idea of layering two uncooked biscuit rounds on top of each other before baking, with a light brushing of melted butter in between the two, came from the amazing recipe writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins, who used this technique in her biscuit recipe for strawberry shortcakes in The New York Times. In 1986! This allows them to pull apart more easily after baking, so you can make a double-decker strawberry shortcake.
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Double Decker Strawberry Shortcake
Equipment
- 3-inch Biscuit or Cookie Cutter
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 8 tablespoons granulated sugar (divided)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)
- ¾ cup half and half or whole milk (plus more for brushing the tops of the biscuits)
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 2 pints (4 cups) fresh strawberries (sliced)
For the Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream (chilled)
- 2 tablespoons sour cream (or crème fraiche or mascarpone; optional)
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Very lightly flour a clean counter or work surface.
Make the Biscuits
- Combine the flour with 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or use your fingers to rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Alternately, you can pulse the butter into the flour mixture in a food processor, stopping when it reaches the coarse crumb texture.
- Add the half-and-half or milk and stir until just barely combined. Turn the mixture onto the lightly floured surface. Use your hands to lightly mix the dough just until it barely holds together. Pat it out into a circle or a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick.
- Use a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out the shortcakes, keeping them as close together as possible to minimize extra dough. Make sure you use a sharp biscuit cutter vs. a glass, and press down and pull straight up without twisting; twisting will hinder their rising as they bake. If you dip the biscuit cutter in flour in between each biscuit cutting, it will help prevent sticking. You can collect the scraps and re-pat them out into a 1/2-inch thick disk and cut out another 2 or 3 circles when you are done. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. You should have 12 circles when you are done.
- Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter. Transfer half of the biscuits to a baking sheet. Brush the tops with a bit of the melted butter. Place the rest of the biscuits on top of the buttered biscuits, and brush the tops with milk or cream. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the shortcakes.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Macerate the Strawberries
- Meanwhile, put the berries in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar or to taste. Toss with a fork and lightly crush some of the berries so you have some different textures going on and some of the juices are released. This will also help keep the berries from slipping and sliding on the shortcakes.
Make the Whipped Cream
- Once the berries are macerating, make the whipped cream. Place the heavy cream, sour cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla in a clean bowl (if you chill it first, the cream will whip up faster) or the bowl of a standing mixer outfitted with the whisk insert.
- Use a whisk or a handheld electric mixer on high speed to beat the cream, moving it all around the bowl, until it starts to form stiff peaks (or turn on the standing mixer). Stop beating at this point – overbeating can cause the cream to separate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble the Strawberry Shortcakes
- Just before serving, cut each biscuit crosswise so you have a top half and a bottom half. Place the bottom halves on plates, layer on some strawberries, then some whipped cream.
- Replace the top of the shortcake, then spoon over some more strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
Double Decker Strawberry Shortcake Tips
- The biscuit dough is quite crumbly, which is by intention. As long as it can hold together when you pat it into a rectangle, there is enough moisture in it.
- When you cut the biscuits, cut them as close together as you can, with as little dough left behind on the cutting board as possible. Yes, you can roll the scraps up and cut out another couple of circles, but the more you handle the dough, the less tender it becomes, so try to get as many biscuits out of the original rectangle as possible.
- The tops of the biscuits are brushed with a bit more half-and-half or milk and sprinkled with sugar before they go into the oven, resulting in a beautifully browned and slightly crunchy top. If you can find coarse or demerara sugar, use that. The raw sugar you see in the market is perfect.
- The assembled biscuits should be at least 1 inch tall once the two biscuit layers have been stacked. After baking, you will be cutting them horizontally and then filling them with strawberries and cream.
- If you dip the biscuit cutter in flour between each biscuit cutting, it will help prevent sticking.
- If you chill the cream and the mixing bowl first, the cream will whip up faster.
- Read more about making perfect biscuits.
Make Ahead and Storage
- The biscuits can be made several hours ahead. They can even be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but biscuits are best the day they are made.
- The strawberries can be macerated at room temp for a few hours or in the fridge for up to 8 hours.
- The cream can be whipped a few hours ahead and kept in the fridge.
Nutrition
FAQs
The three components of strawberry shortcakes are lightly sweetened biscuits, sweetened whipped cream, and macerated strawberries. Sometimes it is made with sponge cake instead of biscuits, but we love our flaky biscuits as the base!
Strawberry shortcake is the state dessert of Florida! Interestingly, the vast majority of strawberries in the U.S. are grown in California, though Florida ranks a distant second.
Thank you for the instructions to pull this off. Easier than I thought, and everyone loved it.
Almost exactly what I’ve been looking for in a strawberry shortcake recipe. It was delicious!
We will be getting strawberries here in a month or two – can’t wait to try this recipe. Pinned to try then – it looks so amazing!
Well clicking on this article was a happy accident. This looks AMAZING. Making NOW.
The perfect dessert recipe. We loved these shortcakes so much!
One of my absolute favorite desserts! We make this often in my house!
I love desserts with strawberry and cream! This strawberry shortcake was so good, my family asked me to make another one! Thanks for the great recipe!
This is a delicious dessert my whole family loves! They would like me to make it every week!
love this strawberry shortcake recipe!