Simple and Delicious Strawberry Shortcakes

I recently moved from the north of Germany from Hamburg to the south to Munich and I am impatiently waiting for spring to finally start. It is the end of March almost and I found snowdrops and crocus flowering, not really spring yet if the heralds of spring are only blossoming. The daffodils still need more time. Just this fact made me realize that winters are definitely milder in Hamburg. The nights simply are not as cold and the change in temperature is not as drastic. I mean, I took the picture with the snowdrops you see below in mid-March. Don’t think that would be possible in Hamburg. But regardless if spring is here, we can invite spring to our plate, can’t we? At least I wanted to do that by preparing these simple and delicious strawberry shortcakes. I love the fact that it really doesn’t take a lot of time to make them. Served with whipped cream and some fresh strawberries, let’s have this beautiful dessert!

Shortcake originates from the UK and was already served in the Middle Ages. It is similar to shortbread as you also make crumbs from flour, sugar, and butter. But here you add buttermilk, not water or an egg, the buttermilk makes this shortcake nice and fluffy. Shortcake is a rather plain type of cake, not really sweet, but that’s when the fruit and the whipping cream come in, shortcake is the perfect companion to fresh strawberries and some sweetened whipping cream!

I invite you to a nice British high tea, why not serve some shortcake with strawberries and whipping cream? I can also imagine taking these strawberry shortcakes to a picnic or for a coffee invite. I love the fact that you can prepare each component in advance and assemble them shortly beforehand. How would you serve yours?

Strawberries are the epithany of spring for me. Once it is possible to eat local strawberries, it really means spring. I desperately need some fresh color after winter, I feel winter always drags on for too long. Of course you can also use other berries or even stone fruit, but I find strawberries are the best for this shortcake.

Credit: Sally’s Baking Addiction

Print Recipe

Simple and Easy Strawberry Shortcakes

Serves: About 10-12 shortcakes , depending on size

Cooking Time: 20min preparation + 15min of baking

Ingredients

• Filling
• 500 grams of strawberries
• 50 grams of regular sugar
• 250 grams of heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, see here how to make your own
• 
  
• Shortcakes
• 375 grams of all-purpose flour
• 50 grams of regular sugar
• 2 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 180 grams of cold butter
• 240 grams of buttermilk

Instructions

1

For the filling quarter the strawberries and let sit in a bowl with half of the sugar.

2

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3

For the shortcakes combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix with a whisk or spoon. Cube the butter on top and work into cumbs the size of peas. I like doing this by hand, but you can use a mixer, pastry cutter or pulse it in a food processor. Add the buttermilk and work into a ball with a wooden spoon. Try to do this quickly, the dough will be crumbly, but that's OK. Place the dough on a clean surface and pat down a circle, 1.5 centimeters thick. Cut out circles with 7 centimeters in diameter. I did this with a glass. Place these circles side by side on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 15min or until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing in half.

4

Beat the heavy cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla extract until stiff. Tip: if you are preparing the shortcakes in advance, I recommend assembling shortly before serving. Dollop some whipped cream on the bottom half, place a few strawberries on top, and cover with the second half. Dollop again some cream and strawberries on the top shortcake and serve immediately.