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one serving of easy strawberry shortcake from scratch on a white plate with a fork with another serving in the background
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Easy Strawberry Shortcake (From Scratch!)

Make this Easy Strawberry Shortcake From Scratch once - the strawberries, the shortcake and the whipped cream - and it's the only way you'll ever want to make this classic spring and summer dessert!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chilling & Cooling Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 8
Estimated Calories: 422
Author: Michelle

Ingredients

For the Macerated Strawberries

  • 1½ pounds fresh strawberries, get the best most perfectly ripe ones you can
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, or to taste (depending on the sweetness of your strawberries)

For the Shortcake

  • cooking spray, for greasing the pan
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder, I recommend sifting it (see Notes below)
  • ½ teaspoon salt, I use regular table salt for this recipe
  • ½ cup cold unsalted butter, 1 stick
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream

  • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • ⅜ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Special Equipment

  • pastry blender for making the shortcake (see Notes below if you don't have one)
  • electric mixer hand-held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (see Notes below if you don't have one)

Instructions

Make the Macerated Strawberries

  • Remove the stems and leaves from the tops of the strawberries and discard.
  • Thinly slice the strawberries (about ⅛ inch thick).
  • Place the sliced strawberries in a medium to large bowl. Add the 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar; stir until well combined.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap; refrigerate the strawberries for at least one hour.
    The longer you macerate the strawberries, the softer they will become and the more liquid will be released. I usually give them about 1 to 2 hours so they are still quite fresh and not too soft.

Make the Shortcake

  • While the strawberries are macerating in the fridge, make the shortcake.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F, and spray an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with cooking spray (bottom and sides).
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ⅓ cup of granulated sugar, the baking powder, and the salt until well combined.
  • Cut the cold butter into cubes (about ½ inch); add the cubed butter to the flour mixture.
  • Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until well combined.
  • Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture; mix just until combined and all of the dry ingredients have been moistened.
    Be careful of overmixing the batter, as this can cause the cake to be tough.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan; spread it out evenly in the pan.
  • Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs (no wet batter).
    Be careful of over-baking, as this can cause the cake to be dry.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • When the cake has cooled, cut it into 8 equally sized pieces.

Make the Whipped Cream

  • While the cake is cooling, make the whipped cream.
  • Place the cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and ⅜ teaspoon of vanilla extract in a large bowl.
  • Using an electric mixer, beat just until stiff peaks form.
    To check, lift the beaters out of the cream. When the peaks stand up straight without curling over on themselves, you've got stiff peaks. Check often and be very careful not to overbeat the cream. If taken too far, it will start to deflate and become grainy and clumpy, which means it is starting to turn into butter, and you can't really recover from that so you will need to start over.
  • If not using immediately, cover the bowl and put the whipped cream in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Assemble the Strawberry Shortcakes

  • For each strawberry shortcake:
    Start by cutting one piece of the shortcake in half horizontally.
  • Place one half of the piece of shortcake on the serving dish (cut side up) and top with ⅛ of the macerated strawberries and juice.
  • Top with ⅛ of the whipped cream
  • Place the other half of the piece of shortcake on top of the whipped cream (cut side down).
  • Repeat the assembly with the remaining ingredients.
    Only assemble as many of the shortcakes as you will be serving immediately; store the remaining ingredients separately until you are ready to serve them.
  • Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • If you don't have a pastry blender, you can use a fork to mash the butter cubes into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (or you can use two butter knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture).
  • I always sift in baking powder because it can sometimes have small hard lumps that you don't want in your batter because they don't dissolve well and taste bitter and unpleasant if you bite into one.
  • If you don't have an electric mixer, you can make the whipped cream by hand with a whisk. It will just take some elbow grease and a little more time.
  • Please refer to the post for more tips and info on substitutions and variations, make ahead, storage and freezing. 
Tried this recipe? I'd love to see it!Take a photo, post it on Instagram, and mention @nowcookthis or tag #nowcookthisrecipes. Thanks!