Name: Delicious Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 2 h 32 min
Yield: 7
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup sourdough starter (or discard); 1 large egg; 1 tbsp baking powder; 8 tbsp of cold butter; 3 lbs of strawberries; 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp of sugar; 1/2 cup of milk plus more for brushing; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp of sea salt; 1-2 cups of heavy whipping cream

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This delicious sourdough strawberry shortcake recipe makes a golden, buttery, sweet biscuit with a sourdough starter and is topped with fresh strawberries and cream.

With the fourth of July not too far out, I had to share my sourdough strawberry shortcake recipe. Reason being is for years I have served strawberry shortcakes to our guests during the front yard firework show and it has now become a tradition.

In doing so, I have served many different versions of strawberry shortcakes over the years. Some with pound cake as the base and other times with sponge cake or biscuit bases. Honestly, all are delicious. This simple dessert is hard to beat whatever kind of base you have since the star of it is the fresh strawberries with cream. Using a sourdough starter makes these my favorite way to make them.

On warm summer nights, it is the perfect dessert. When it comes to serving them at a gathering, the best part is in how simple they are to serve guests. You can have guests serve themselves by creating an assembly line or you can plate them quickly and bring them out on a tray. Either way, they will be a hit.

Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake Is…

A golden brown sweet biscuit topped with fresh strawberries.
Made with simple ingredients including a sourdough starter.
Can be made with sourdough starter discard.
One of the simplest sourdough recipes and is similar to regular sourdough biscuits.
A great way to make individual desserts.

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter- for this recipe you can use an active sourdough starter, a sourdough starter discard or a starter pulled straight from the fridge.

Flour- I like to use all-purpose flour as the protein content makes for a crumbly texture perfect for topping.

Egg- I use a large egg for this.

Butter- I use salted butter to make these shortcakes. You can opt to use unsalted butter if you like, just note, if using unsalted butter you will want to add a pinch of salt to the dough. Salt will help balance out the flavors.

Milk- use whole milk or 2% milk for the biscuits. Do not use milk substitutes as this will change the texture.

Sugar- I use pure cane unrefined sugar or raw sugar but you can use standard white sugar and even light brown sugar will work fine.

Baking Powder- added rise the biscuits, baking powder helps make them nice and puffy.

Strawberries- use ripe juicy strawberries that are nice and sweet.

Vanilla Extract- I use our homemade vanilla extract for this but any good quality one is fine.

Cream- you can opt to buy store bought whipped cream or make your own with heavy whipping cream.

*Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through the links I provide (at no cost to you).

Tools

Baking Sheet

Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer (optional, for whipped cream)

Biscuit Cutter (or a jam size mason jar lid works great too)

Pastry Cutter (or you can use your hands)

Bench Scraper

Directions

The first thing to do is to start with the strawberries. To prepare the strawberries, remove the stems and quarter the berries. Place the berries into a medium bowl. Sprinkle a 1/4 cup of sugar over the berries, add the vanilla extract, and use a large spoon to mix the sugar into the berries to coat them. Tightly wrap a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Note: You can add the ingredients to a food processor to blend the dough for a faster process.

woman placing biscuits on a baking sheet

Heat the oven to 450℉. In a large bowl, flour, baking powder, starter, egg, milk and 3 tbsp. of sugar. Cube the butter into small pieces. Use a pastry cutter to smash the butter into the ingredients until a dough ball forms.

Note: For the cold butter, it helps to use a box grater to shave the butter into small pieces if you don’t have a pastry cutter.

You will want to smash down any large chunks of butter into the dough. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangular shape. Cut the biscuits. Arrange them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle sugar on the top of each biscuit. Place them into a hot oven and bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown.

When ready, whip the heavy cream with 1 tbsp of sugar. (or use store-bought) and create an assembly line. Place a biscuit on a plate and spoon a few spoonfuls of strawberries over. Drizzle a little of the strawberry sauce in the bowl over the berries and biscuit. Top them with a dollop of homemade whipped cream before serving.

Baking Notes

Do not use softened butter to make the biscuits. The butter needs to be very cold to make the biscuits flaky. Use butter fresh from the fridge or even frozen butter.
If using frozen butter, use a cheese grater or box grater to shave it into small pieces.
Use only bright red ripe strawberries, not underripe berries for best results.
Serve strawberry shortcakes at room temperature.

How To Make Fresh Whipped Cream

Pour 1-2 cups of heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1-2 tbsp of sugar. Use a whip attachment and beat the cream on high until it begins to thicken. The whipped cream is ready when you can form soft peaks when dipping the whisk attachment into the cream. Store whipped cream in an airtight container in the fridge.

How To Store

Store leftovers in airtight containers. The biscuits should be stored at room temperature while the strawberries and cream in the fridge. They will keep for up to 3 days.

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