Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Make delicious strawberry shortcake totally from scratch this summer with this easy recipe! These lightly sweetened sourdough biscuits are so perfect for holding fresh strawberries and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Made from simple ingredients, it really is the perfect summer dessert!

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​This is the time of year when we start to see all kinds of beautiful, fresh ingredients hit our farmer’s markets and roadside stands. We absolutely love the summer time flavors – but our favorite might be fresh strawberries. There are many places that are local to us where we can pick our own, and there is nothing like sweet strawberries fresh from the farm. For this sourdough strawberry shortcake recipe, I highly recommend getting yourself from ripe strawberries before strawberry season sneaks away from us. 

what you need to know about sourdough strawberry shortcake

Making strawberry shortcake from scratch needs to make it on your summer bucket list. The flavors of the sweet biscuits with fresh, juicy strawberries and homemade whipped cream make the perfect sweet treat. My recipe makes the most tender biscuits that do not require an active starter. A cold jar of sourdough discard straight from the fridge works perfectly, and the tanginess of the fermented grains add a delicious layer of flavor.

The sweet strawberry sauce does not require any preparation. Simply sprinkling a little cane sugar onto some cut strawberries allows the fresh fruit to release its juices. And whipping some cold heavy cream until its soft and fluffy is the only way to complete a delicious sourdough strawberry shortcake. 

why sourdough?

I love finding recipes that use up my extra sourdough starter. I feed my starter every day even if I don’t have a plan of what to use it for. Because I cook almost exclusively from scratch, I usually end up using it for something. But there are those days when I just run out of time and the starter deflates before I have a chance to put a recipe together like this sandwich bread or some sourdough bagels. When that happens, I love to make sourdough crackers, sourdough buttermilk biscuits, or some sourdough pie crust to keep in the fridge.

I started baking with sourdough about 10 years ago when I started learning more about the proper preparation of grains. Entire civilizations have lived off of bread and wheat products all throughout history, but nowadays there are so many people who can’t tolerate gluten or grains. The key difference between then and now is the way grains are prepared. Centuries ago, people needed to ferment their grains in order for them to rise into bread. With the little packets of quick rise yeast now readily available, the fermentation process has been eliminated.

Using sourdough starter allows the dough to ferment more slowly, breaking down the gluten and releasing the phytic acid. Phytic acid is and antinutrient present on grains and beans to keep them from spoiling. They are there for a reason, but unfortunately, our bodies don’t handle them well. Properly preparing the grains eliminates the large majority of phytic acid, making the final product much more gentle on the gut and easier to digest. 

​soft sourdough biscuits

We can’t get enough of this sourdough biscuit recipe. They can be made with active sourdough starter or sourdough discard and they come out perfect every time. I make them for breakfast with a simple sausage gravy or for dinner with some cheddar cheese mixed in. The taste and texture are far superior to their store-bought counterparts. They are so delicious with some homemade butter melting into all of the nooks and crannies. We also love to turn them into breakfast sandwiches with eggs, bacon and cheese. For these sourdough shortcakes, I lightly sweeten the dough and sprinkle with a little sugar on top before baking. 

ingredients

• organic all purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• cold butter
• sourdough starter (does not need to be active sourdough starter)
• buttermilk
• raw honey
• cream and coarse sugar for brushing

how to make sourdough drop biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Put all of the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, baking powder, salt) into a large bowl. Mix with a dough whisk to combine. 
3. Shred cold butter with a box grater and mix into flour mixture. OR cut cold butter into cubes and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter.
4. Mix sourdough starter, buttermilk (whole milk works in a pinch) and honey in a smaller bowl. Pour into the flour/butter mixture and stir with a dough whisk until just combined. It’s ok if there’s a little dry flour in the bottom – you don’t want to over mix!
5. Divide the dough with a bench scraper into 8 equal pieces and shape into a rough ball shape. Arrange in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Use a pastry brush to brush each biscuit with a little heavy whipping cream and sprinkle the top of the dough with a little coarse sugar.
7. Bake 14-18 minutes, until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.

tips for making extra soft and fluffy biscuits

Cold butter: Using cold butter will create more pockets as it melts in the oven, making the biscuits extra fluffy.

Don’t over mix: Mixing the dough too much will activate the gluten, making the biscuits tough instead of soft in texture.

Bake close together: Baking the biscuits close together in a cast iron skillet makes them rise higher instead of spread out flatter. 

fresh strawberries for strawberry shortcake

You only need two ingredients for the strawberry filling: fresh strawberries and a little bit of cane sugar. Chop up the strawberries and mix with a little sugar. The sugar helps the strawberries release all of their delicious juices. I recommend mixing the strawberries and sugar together before you make the strawberry shortcake biscuits; this gives the strawberries some time to get nice and saucy. 

homemade whipped cream

Just 3 ingredients: cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, maple syrup and vanilla extract. The colder the cream, the more volume your whipped cream has. Unlike store-bought whipped cream, you can control the amount of sweetness. Because the strawberry sauce is so sweet, the cream does not need to be sweetened very much at all. Whip the cream in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until it’s soft and fluffy. 

​If you want to be really fancy, you can make your own spray whipped cream with one of these homemade cream whippers. We just got one and it has been so fun! My kids love a little spray whipped cream on everything, and I love that I can make it with wholesome ingredients. It comes with a few different attachments which give it an elevated look. Be aware that the chargers are sold separately, so grab those here. 

assemble the sourdough strawberry shortcakes

After the biscuits bake, it’s time to assemble the strawberry shortcakes. Strawberry shortcake is fantastic with warm biscuits, cold strawberries, and cold whipped cream—but you can also wait for the biscuits to cool.

Assembling the strawberry shortcakes is the fun part! I like to set out all of the components and let everyone assemble their own dessert. You could even add blueberries to the sweet strawberries for a patriotic treat in July!

more favorite summer dessert sourdough recipes

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