Strawberry shortcake
Strawberry shortcakes are the perfect summer afternoon tea treat. A soft biscuity scone, filled with sweetened cream and strawberries, they’re not only delicious but incredibly easy to make.
Strawberry shortcakes are a delicious treat to enjoy in the summer. The delicious crumble scone like biscuit gets filled with sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberries. They’re really easy to make from scratch and delicious to enjoy on a summer’s day.
What are strawberry shortcakes?
Strawberry shortcakes are delicious crumbly scone like biscuity-cakes that are filled with sweetened cream and strawberries.
How can kids help to make strawberry shortcakes?
I think these shortcakes are a great bake to make with kids. They only use a few ingredients and don’t need any special equipment so are perfect if you’re just starting out in the kitchen. As long as you have a bowl to mix everything in, something to measure everything out with and a baking tray, you have everything you need.
When making these strawberry shortcakes, your kids will be able to help measure everything out and mix it all together. They can get their hands a bit messy rubbing the butter and flour together which is always a fun job for kids.
Another fun job for kids is bringing the dough together and cutting out the shortcakes. If you’re kids like playing with play-dough they should be familiar with using cutters and patting out the scone dough.
Finally, your kids can help to prepare the strawberries – cutting and hulling them is easy as they are a soft fruit and don’t need to all be cut to the same size. And once everything has been prepared it’s really easy to put everything together to assemble the strawberry shortcakes.
How do I make sure the shortcakes are light and fluffy?
I think the hardest part of making these is making sure they turn out light and fluffy (and just like with scones, I don’t think we manage it every time).
The first thing to do is to check that you’re using in date flour. The baking powder in self raising flour won’t work as well after the expiry date.
There are a few other things you can do as you make them to help them rise better, although admittedly where children are involved it’s sometimes easier said than done. The first, and most important thing to do is to be as gentle as you can with the dough particularly when you’re bringing it all together. Try to make sure your children stop kneading the dough as soon as it comes together so you don’t over work it which will stop it rising so well.
Finally, when you have made the dough it’s important you don’t roll it out with a rolling pin. Instead, you should pat it gently out with your hands. And then, when you’re using your cutters try and push straight down rather than twisting and turning them.
How long do strawberry shortcakes keep?
I personally think these are best served on the day they’re made but the shortcakes (unfilled) will keep for a day or two.
To store them, put them in an air tight container. Only fill them with the strawberries and cream just before you want to serve them.
If you want to keep them for longer, you can freeze them (again, unfilled), for up to two months.
What can I use instead of self raising flour?
If you don’t have any self raising flour, which should be easy to find in supermarkets here in the UK, but less so elsewhere, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and put in an extra 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a generous pinch of salt.
Do you need to macerate the strawberries?
Macerating the strawberries (soaking them in a sugary liquid), before you use them will bring out their flavour. It’s especially important to do it if your strawberries aren’t as sweet or ripe as you would like them to be.
I think it’s worth doing as it really helps bring a lot of flavour to your strawberries but you could skip this step if you have very ripe strawberries that are already full of flavour.
Other ways to use up strawberries
If you’ve got an abundance of strawberries, why not use some up in one of these strawberry filled recipes:
Strawberry cupcakes
Eton mess cupcakes
Strawberry cheesecake
Strawberry crumble
Easy homemade strawberry jam
Strawberry cookies
Strawberry muffins
Strawberry sponge cake
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these strawberry shortcakes
Digital scales
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Measuring jug
Wooden spoons
Strawberry huller
Baking tray
Wire rack
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Ingredients
For the shortcakes
350g (2 ¼ cup) Self raising flour*
100g (½ cup) butter
60g (¼ cup) caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
100ml (1/3 cup) milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
For the filling
2 tablespoons icing sugar
250ml (1 ¼ cup) double/whipping cream
250g (1 ½ cup) strawberries
2 tablespoon caster sugar
2 1 tablespoon lemon juice
How to make strawberry shortcakes
Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C Fan / 425F and line a large baking tray with baking or parchment paper.
Rub the flour and butter together
Start by getting your kids to measure out the flour, and add it to a large mixing bowl.
Measure the butter, then get your kids to cut it into small pieces, or you can use a grater and grate it into your bowl. Either way, you want the pieces of butter to be nice and small to make rubbing in a bit easier.
Cutting the butter into pieces is a great job for kids who want to practice their cutting skills as you don’t need to use a sharp knife and it doesn’t really matter if everything doesn’t end up exactly the same size.
Add the butter to the flour.
Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. I find this a really fun, tactile job that kids really enjoy doing.
Add the sugar
Measure the sugar out and add it to your mixing bowl. Mix it in with a spoon.
Add the wet ingredients
Get your kids to measure out the milk. We find the easiest way to be accurate is to use the ml setting of your digital scales if you have them. If not, just measure it with a measuring jug.
Add the lemon juice to your milk and mix it in. Set it aside while you add the egg.
Crack the egg into a small bowl before giving it a little whisk and adding it to your mixing bowl. We never add our eggs straight into the mixing bowl just in case any shell goes in. If it does simply fish it out with a teaspoon or a larger piece of shell. It will stick to that more easily than it will your finger.
Start mixing the egg in, then add the milk/lemon mixture. Stir it all together with a butter knife.
Keep going until the wet ingredients have coated the flour and it starts to clump together.
Then very gently bring it together with your hands until it forms a ball of dough. Don’t over handle the dough – you want to touch it as little as possible.
Chill the dough
Wrap the dough in cling film / glad wrap and pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.
Make the shortcakes
Tip the dough out on to a floured work surface and pat it down (don’t use a rolling pin) until it is about 2cm (¾ inch) thick.
Using a 7cm fluted cutter, cut out the shortcakes and put them on your prepared baking tray.
Gather in the remaining dough and cut out some more until you’ve used it all up.
Bake the shortcakes
Bake the shortcakes in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. They’re ready when they’ve risen a little and turned golden brown. They should sound hollow if you tap them underneath.
Remove them from the oven and leave them on the baking tray to cool for a minute or two before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the filling
Start by macerating the strawberries
Get your kids to help hull the strawberries and cut them into pieces. Depending on the size of the strawberries you can half them, or cut them into slices.
Pop the strawberries into a small bowl and add the caster sugar and lemon juice. Stir it all in and set it aside while you prepare the cream.
Add the cream and icing sugar to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. Using a hand held whisk or the whisk attachment of your mixer, whip the cream until it has thickened.
Assemble the strawberry shortcakes
Cut the cooled shortcakes in half and fill them with the cream and macerated strawberries. You can add a little cream and a few strawberries on top as well if you like.
Serve and enjoy.
Strawberry shortcake
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Measuring jug
- Wooden spoons
- Strawberry huller
- baking tray
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For the shortcakes
- 350 g (2 ¼ cup) Self raising flour*
- 100 g (½ cup) butter
- 60 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 ml (⅓ cup) milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 egg
For the filling
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 250 ml (1 ¼ cup) double/whipping cream
- 250 g (1 ½ cup) strawberries
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- 2 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C Fan / 425F and line a large baking tray with baking or parchment paper.
Rub the flour and butter together
- Measure out the flour, and add it to a large mixing bowl.
- Measure the butter, then cut it into small pieces, or you can use a grater and grate it into your bowl.Add the butter to the flour.
- Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar
- Measure the sugar out and add it to your mixing bowl. Mix it in with a spoon.
Add the wet ingredients
- Measure out the milk.Add the lemon juice to your milk and mix it in. Set it aside while you add the egg.Crack the egg into a small bowl before giving it a little whisk and adding it to your mixing bowl.
- Start mixing the egg in, then add the milk/lemon mixture. Stir it all together with a butter knife until it clumps together. Then very gently bring it together with your hands until it forms a ball of dough. Don't over handle the dough – you want to touch it as little as possible.
Chill the dough
- Wrap the dough in cling film / glad wrap and pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.
Make the shortcakes
- Tip the dough out on to a floured work surface and pat it down (don't use a rolling pin) until it is about 2cm (¾ inch) thick.Using a 7cm fluted cutter, cut out the shortcakes and put them on your prepared baking tray.Gather in the remaining dough and cut out some more until you've used it all up.
Bake the shortcakes
- Bake the shortcakes in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. They're ready when they've risen a little and turned golden brown. They should sound hollow if you tap them underneath.
- Remove them from the oven and leave them on the baking tray to cool for a minute or two before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the filling
- Start by macerating the strawberries.Hull the strawberries and cut them into pieces. Depending on the size of the strawberries you can half them, or cut them into slices.Pop the strawberries into a small bowl and add the caster sugar and lemon juice. Stir it all in and set it aside while you prepare the cream.
- Add the cream and icing sugar to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. Using a hand held whisk or the whisk attachment of your mixer, whip the cream until it has thickened.
Assemble the strawberry shortcakes
- Cut the cooled shortcakes in half and fill them with the cream and macerated strawberries. You can add a little cream and a few strawberries on top as well if you like.
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Wow, this recipe looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try it out this weekend. Thanks for sharing🤗