With bright red strawberries finally coming to market, it’s time to share how to make strawberry shortcake.

There are so many ways to prepare shortcake, from the simple sponge cakes and angel food cakes at the grocery, to homemade biscuits and even Bisquick shortcakes, which is what I grew up on!

None of them are wrong. After all, what can be wrong with glorious strawberries and fluffy whipped cream spread between two biscuits?

I do love this biscuit recipe and this scone recipe a lot! Nothing wrong with either when making strawberry shortcake.

But truly, it’s the shortcake that gets to lovingly soak up all the sweet juice from the strawberry and it should be more than good. It should be great!

So for years, I’ve been on a hunt for the best shortcake ever, because I do love strawberry shortcake.

Which actually is kind of funny, since I used to develop hives when I was a child after eating strawberries!

What Makes This Shortcake Special?

I’ve made a lot of shortcakes over the years but I finally found one that is worth its weight in gold.

It’s from James Beard and has one very uncommon ingredient that I’ve seen before, but never tried.

Believe it or not, the yolks from two hardboiled eggs are used in this strawberry shortcake recipe and the flavor they give is incredible.

Merely push the hard boiled egg yolks through a sieve when mixing into the dough.

Plus this makes the shortcakes a beautiful golden color.

They are crusty on the outside, and so tender and soft on the inside and their rich flavor is perfect with strawberries and whipped cream.

Honestly, I would have been happy eating them totally on their own!

My shortcakes did topple over a bit, but they still tasted incredible.

And I had to use a bit more heavy cream to bring the dough together.

Colorado is very dry so if you have the same issue, don’t be afraid to add as much cream as you need to hold the dough together. Just don’t make this too wet!

Just sweet enough, these beauties were a favorite recipe of James Beard’s mom and we all know that moms are the best cooks, right?

 

My Favorite Whipped Cream

Whipped cream doesn’t just add flavor to this trio; it creates a wonderful contrast of textures with the berries and the cake.

All whipped cream is great and some would even say that the stuff from the can is great, too.

But since I make strawberry shortcake so rarely, I want to do it right!

That means real heavy cream. Make sure it is very cold-straight from the fridge. Give it a little shake and pour into a cold bowl.

Add in some powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla and whip away.

This is a good time to bring out your portable hand mixer. Set it to medium high and let this mixture whip until it is almost firm peaks. ALMOST!

Don’t over beat or you end up with very sweet butter.

For strawberry shortcake I like to use a mixture of sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla to make my cream, but the choice is up to you.

Strawberries

It’s obvious that you should look for the brightest, reddest berries, right? No whiteish green hats near the stem.

From there it’s a matter of determining how many strawberries you need.

I usually figure about 1 cup of sliced berries per serving, which I think is on the generous side.

But how many pints of strawberries equals a cup?

One pint is equal to about 2 cups sliced and 1 quart is 4 cups of sliced strawberries. So for this recipe which makes 6 shortcakes, I would go with 1 quart of berries plus one pint and use them all!

To make the strawberries nice and juicy, toss them with brown or white sugar after slicing.

The amount of sugar is up to you and totally depends on the sweetness of the berries.

Two tablespoons is a rough amount for this amount of berries.

Sugar helps bring the juice out of the berries which helps create a nice syrup.

I like to let them sit for a few hours for maximum effect!

How To Make Strawberry Shortcake?

Once your shortcakes have cooled, it is time to assemble.

With a serrated knife or a fork, split the shortcakes in half.

Using a spoon, take a few spoonfuls of juice from the berries and drizzle on one side of the shortcake.

Add the strawberries and top with whipped cream.

Now place the biscuit back on top and sprinkle with sugar for maximum effect.

Of course I always put extra whipped cream on the table, because one can never get enough!

Now you know the secret to making a great classic dessert.

So let’s keep how to make strawberry shortcake, the best ever) between us, shall we?

Need a Few More?

Strawberry Jam

Triple Berry Hand Pies

Strawberry Crumble Bars

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