Strawberry Shortcake Recipe – Spoon Fork Bacon

Spring and summer are the perfect time to enjoy strawberries, and to turn them into delicious desserts like our Strawberry Shortcake Recipe! I love everything about this recipe! The cornmeal biscuits are so good on their own (especially served warm with some soft butter, sea salt flakes and honey), but they also go really well with the lightly macerated strawberries and whipped cream! I think the biscuits also make this traditional dessert just a little bit more special. The fact that we’re making from scratch drop biscuits also make things a lot easier and less messy; no need to roll and cut them out.

This is also a great make ahead dessert for a group of people. You can make the biscuits up to 3 days ahead of time and then just have the macerated strawberries and whipped cream made the morning of your get together and refrigerated until you’re ready to use them. You may want to give the strawberries and whipped cream an extra stir before assembling the shortcakes, but that’s it!

How to Make Our Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Process

Cornmeal Biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Place flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together.

3. Add butter to flour mixture and break apart, using the back of a fork or your hands until a fine, mealy texture evenly forms throughout.
4. Pour buttermilk over crumbly mixture.

4. Stir in buttermilk until just combined and no dry spots remain.
5. Scoop 1/4 cup sized scoops onto the prepared baking sheet (using an ice cream/cookie scooper), 1 inch apart, and bake biscuits for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

6. Once biscuits have baked, remove from oven and allow them to cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Strawberries

1. While biscuits bake, place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice into another mixing bowl and toss together.
2. Set aside to allow berries to macerate.

Whipped cream

1. Place heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into a medium bowl.
2. Whip together until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly

1. Slice each biscuit in half crosswise, and top each bottom half with a couple spoonfuls of the lightly whipped cream. Top whipped cream with a couple spoonfuls of macerated strawberries and serve.

What is Polenta Style Cornmeal?

Polenta style cornmeal is cornmeal that is usually medium-grind coarseness (although it can also be found to be medium-fine, medium-coarse and coarse ground).

It’s our preferred style because not only does it add a great flavor, but it also adds a nice texture to the biscuits. You can use finely ground cornmeal that will still result in really delicious biscuits, but you will lose the tiny bits of crunchy texture within the biscuits that we love so much.

Make Ahead and Freezing Our Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits

Make Ahead

After biscuits have baked, cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When ready to use, place in an oven (set to 350˚F) for 5 to 7 minutes, just to warm through. Alternatively, wrap biscuit in a paper towel and heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute, in the microwave, until heated through. Make macerated strawberries, whipped cream and assemble strawberry shortcake recipe as instructed.

Freezing Raw Dough

Drop the biscuit dough onto a baking sheet as per the recipe and instead of putting them into the oven, freeze them until completely frozen then transfer to an airtight freezer bag or container and store in the freezer for up to three months.

When you’re ready to bake them, place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet and place in a 425˚F oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.

Thawing/Rewarming Baking Biscuits

When ready to use, place frozen biscuits onto a baking sheet and place in an oven (set to 350˚F) for 6 to 8 minutes, just to thaw and warm through. Alternatively, wrap biscuit in a paper towel and heat for about 2 minutes in the microwave until thawed and heated through. Make macerated strawberries, whipped cream and assemble strawberry shortcake recipe as instructed.

Variations for Our Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

• You can make this recipe dairy free by replacing the butter for vegan butter, the buttermilk for nut or rice milk with a squeeze of lemon juice and whipped cream for coconut whipped cream.
• You can omit the sugar and lemon juice from the strawberries if you prefer to tone the sweetness down a little bit.
• Add some lemon zest into the strawberry mixture for a light, bright burst of fresh flavor!
• Although these are called strawberry shortcakes, we love adding other berries for mixed berry shortcakes.

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