Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
It’s strawberry season in our area of Cape Breton Island.
We had a busy week of bee keeping and planning for the upcoming fall harvest but wanted to take time to visit our local strawberry u-pick. Making seasonal family traditions takes time and sometimes we might feel like saying, “we’ll do that next year”, but we’ve been trying to treat each season as though the next isn’t promised.
Off to the u-pick we went and home we came with two bountiful crates filled with fresh picked berries.
Today I’m sharing one of my favourite found recipes for old fashioned strawberry shortcake. As always, I’ll be including baker’s notes in italicized font highlighting any changes or tips I use for best results.
Recipe below.
Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe| Taste of Home
INGREDIENTS
STRAWBERRY FILLING
6 cups sliced fresh strawberries (I cut mine in thirds)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
SHORTCAKE:
3 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar, divided (only use 4 tbsp in the batter, the 5th is used to sprinkle the tops before going into oven)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1-1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (this is used to brush tops before going into oven, not the batter)
TOPPING:
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Combine strawberries with sugar and vanilla; mash slightly (not too much or they’ll get soggy). Let stand at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally (I put mine into the fridge to set until needed).
Preheat oven to 400°. For shortcakes, whisk together flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter (leave butter in fridge until you’re ready to use it so that it stays cold) until crumbly (butter should be the size of peas, I use two forks or two knives to cut it in). Add buttermilk; stir just until combined (do not overmix). This is a very sticky batter that doesn’t always stay together. I used 1/3 measuring cup for each cake, still messy!)
Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls 2 in. apart onto an ungreased baking sheet (I used parchment paper). Brush with 2 tablespoons heavy cream; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden, 18-20 minutes (FYI: these do not rise like tea biscuits, they will seem much more flat but can still be sliced to make a top and bottom half). Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
For topping, beat heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. To serve, cut shortcakes in half; top with strawberries and whipped cream.
PRESENTATION
If you don’t like how thin the cakes are, you can combine two or three, if you’d like a tower of a show stopper, for each cake, layering cream and berry mixture in-between. Top with a dollop of cream and a whole strawberry for an extra sweet touch.
Alternatively, you can crumble cakes into small serving dishes for bite sized eating and drizzle strawberry sauce and bits on top; less mess!
Are you berry picking in your area? Do you have any favourite strawberry recipes you make year and year again? I would love to try a homemade jam or a strawberry rhubarb pie!
Thank you so much for taking the time to spot by today. Hope to see you again soon,
-Samantha