5-Ingredient Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe

The Food Lab

Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

J. Kenji López-Alt
5-Ingredient Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe
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  • Yield:Serves 4 to 6
  • Active time:10 minutes
  • Total time:25 minutes
  • Rated: 4.0

You're just five ingredients away. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

This strawberry shortcake recipe falls squarely into the maximum-return-for-minimum-investment category. Five ingredients and only five to 10 minutes of actual work for a simple dessert that will be better than most of the stuff you can get at the store.

Why It Works

Five ingredients and ten minutes of work for dessert. Read the Whole Story
  • Combining our 2-Ingredient Biscuit recipe with macerated strawberries and whipped cream makes a 5-ingredient dessert that takes only 10 minutes to put together.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart strawberries, quartered or sliced
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 5 ounces (about 1 cup) self-rising flour
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. 1.

    Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F. Toss strawberries with 6 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and set aside.

  2. 2.

    Place flour in a large bowl. Whisk in 1 tabespoon sugar. Stirring with a wooden spoon, drizzle in 3/4 cup cream. Stir until a lumpy dough is formed. Do not over mix.

  3. 3.

    Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Brush tops with cream and bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove biscuits and set aside.

  4. 4.

    Using a wire whisk or an electric mixer, whip remaining cream with remaining tablespoon sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Split biscuits, top with strawberries and cream, close shortcakes, top with more whipped cream, and serve immediately.

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