This homemade strawberry shortcake recipe is light, airy and so moist! It’s smothered with whipped cream and lemon-marinated strawberries!
This is the best way to use fresh strawberries, trust me! The light and airy shortcake pairs perfectly with layers of lemon-marinated strawberries and fresh homemade whipped cream. This recipe is so easy to prepare and SO delicious.
If you’re looking for a fool proof Strawberry Shortcake recipe, or easy dessert recipes in general, you’ve come to the right place. I actually much prefer to cook than bake, but this recipe holds a special place in my heart.
Watch how to make Strawberry Shortcake
If you’re intimidated by a layered cake and want to try the same recipe in a different presentation, then you gotta try my Strawberry Shortcake Trifle.
I don’t know what it is, but when I say the words Strawberry Shortcake it just makes me smile. And what’s not to smile about? A light and flakey cake smothered with homemade whipped cream and topped with marinated strawberries…aah, there’s nothing like it. An absolute classic among desserts!
Another question I often get it, what’s the best salt for baking? I actually use the same salt in my cooking and baking. Learn more about why I believe kosher salt is best.
The Home Cook’s Guide to Salt
Learn about the basics of salt, plus the best salt for cooking (hint: it’s Kosher salt!) with this easy-to-understand guide to salt for home cooks.
How to Prepare Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake
For this Strawberry Shortcake I toss fresh, sliced strawberries with sugar and lemon juice. This combined with the natural juices of the berries creates the most incredible sauce!
How to make Strawberry Shortcake
- Mix the strawberries, sugar and lemon in a bowl
- In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt
- Add heavy cream to flour mixture
- Mix and pour into cake pan to bake
- Make whipped cream
- Assemble cake with layers of cream and berries
Can I use frozen Strawberries in Strawberry Shortcake?
I much prefer using fresh berries for this Strawberry Shortcake recipe, but if the berries aren’t good you can opt for frozen and defrosted.
More Dessert Recipes
No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Lemon Vanilla Butter Cake
Red, White, & Blue Popsicles
Peach & Blueberry Cobbler
Almond Berry Gallette
Coconut Macaroons
Lemon Blueberry Olive Oil Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream
Classic Layered Strawberry Shortcake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Total Time: 0 minute
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
Description
This is the best way to use fresh strawberries, trust me! The light and airy shortcake pairs perfectly with layers of lemon-marinated strawberries and fresh homemade whipped cream. This recipe is so easy to prepare and SO delicious.
Ingredients
For the berries
- 1 ½ pounds strawberries (quartered)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the shortcake
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
For the whipped cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (very cold)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl add the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and gently stir to combine. Set aside. The sugar and lemon juice will help bring out the natural juices in the berries and create a light sauce.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Mixture will be sticky. Pour mixture into an 8 inch round pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile make the whipped cream. In a bowl or stand alone mixer, beat the cold whipped cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat another 1-2 minutes.
- Once the cake has cooled use a serrated knife and cut the cake in half, creating two circles, one on top of the other. Scoop a large spoonful, (or two or three) onto the bottom layer of the cake. Top with the strawberry mixture. Place the other cake on top, creating a sandwich, and add more whipped cream and berries to the top of the cake. Slice and serve with any leftover whipped cream or berries.
Comments
Alysha
You MUST try this recipe!! Seriously, one of the best dessert I have ever had, and I made it! My strawberries weren’t even that good, but this recipe is so flavorful and forgiving. I can’t wait to try it with peak freshness strawberries from a farmer’s market… I’m sure it’ll be out of this world good!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Thanks for the amazing review, Alysha!! And I’m so glad you loved it!
Minnie
Do you have to use cake flour or can you use all-purpose?
Laney Schwartz
If you use all purpose flour it will change the texture a bit but should still work
Heather
Quick question- just noticed the cake has no butter or eggs, but it still sets up and is able to be cut (because I would think it would come out super hard and would just crumble)? Thanks so much!
Laney Schwartz
It works! It’s more like a biscuit texture
Siena
This was fun to make, and easy too! I just finished frosting it and I can’t wait to try it!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Yay!! Thank you for leaving a 5 star review!
Yolanda
There was no mention of whether or not to grease and flour the pan. Should I?
Laney Schwartz
Sorry about that! Yes you can grease the pan
Em
You weren’t kidding on the sticky mixture. It was incredibly difficult to mix and it made me wonder if I should have added more moisture. It also didn’t rise as much as I had hoped it might, but the flavor was alright! More importantly, the recipe was quick and easy.
★★★
Carol Washburn
I did it with parchment paper because of that actually excellent the recipe is excellent I would just add a bit more sugar to the batter
Hulga
It was ok
★★★
Laney Schwartz
Sorry you didn’t love it Hulga. Curious what could have made it better for you?
Elaine
This was so easy to make. Let a 5 year old help. It was fun. We added blueberries because he loves blueberries and why not. Instead of one big cake we made them individual sized……soooooo cute. The red, white and blue were perfect for Memorial Day.
★★★★★
Katie Ackerman
Strawberry Shortcake is my favorite dessert (it was my graduation “cake” lol) and this recipe was an awesome rendition! I love the addition of lemon zest to the whipped cream for some zing!!
★★★★★
Nicole H
So delicious! I am never buying whipped cream again; it was so easy to make and the shortbread was perfect!
★★★★★
Lisa
Made this yummy treat today. The whipped cream and strawberries came out so good. I don’t know what i did wrong when it came to the cake but I’ll totally be making this again.
★★★★★
Whitley Johnson
This was so delicious! We live right down the road from a strawberry farm so every season we go through about 10 buckets in our house. This cake was so light and delicious. It is very delicate though and for someone who wants all desserts to be picture perfect that gave me a lot of anxiety. I ended up making individual trifle cups for each person and it was a HUGE hit.
★★★★
Elizabeth
The best! Made this for Memorial Day cookout and it is going to be a hit! Thank you 😊
★★★★★
Melissa
Made this recipe for a memorial day picnic and my whole family raved about it! It was easy to make and super delicious. Can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Giovanna
This dessert was absolutely delicious! The shortcake was everything a shortcake should be— delicate, crumbly, and buttery. And the lemon whipped cream was the perfect addition. This was so easy to make and so much better than store-bought!
★★★★★
Angela
Such a refreshing dessert. Not too sweet, everyone loved it! The lemon zest in the whipped cream was the icing on top. Excited to make again.
★★★★★
Maureen Wardrop
This was my first attempt at making homemade strawberry shortcake. The recipe is so easy to follow and definitely a keeper. Absolutely love the homemade whipped cream!!!
★★★★★
Sara Corna
SO good and so easy to make!! If I could give it more than five stars I would! Definitely my go to desert from now on!!
★★★★★
Kim
So Good!!! My husband loved it. Very easy recipe to follow and not to sweet. The lemon flavor added so much. Did not fully top the cake the first night. Cut in slices and topped with strawberries the first night then tried blueberries the next night. Yum! Will be making this again.
★★★★★
Paige
Super easy to throw this together and was delicious! I made for a bday dessert. I didn’t layer but cut pieces of cake individually, then topped with strawberries & whipped cream. It wasn’t too sweet and each layer complimented one another. Don’t skip the extra goodies from the strawberries & whipped cream. That lemon zest in the whipped cream makes a huge difference! Will definitely be making this all summer long.
★★★★★
Kel
I love the rustic look aka forgiving of decorating mishaps
★★★★★
Kalyn
Made this for Mother’s Day. Simple but so good! Proud because I hand whipped the cream. Didn’t want to get out my mixer.
★★★★★
Jeanne Hoyt
My family loved this recipe! It was super simple and made a great birthday cake for my daughter’s 11th birthday. She wants to make it again with a lemon filling, and I think that is a great idea! Any fruit would go well with this cake.
★★★★★
Samantha Muscarella
This recipe is incredible!!!! Make it ASAP
I got semi nervous when I tried the batter and it didn’t taste like a traditional box batter, BUT OH MY GOODNESS was wrong to worry!
Absolutely heavenly! The cake the strawberries and the whipped cream!!! The lemon is the cherry on top!
This was truly magnificent and I’ll probably start offering to bring dessert in the summer to friends houses!
★★★★★
Tara
Beautiful cake and a great way to use delicious strawberries. I definitely wanted it to be a little more sweet than it was. It was simple to make and great to look at!
★★★★
Lauren
This strawberry shortcake recipe was a home run! I made this for Mother’s Day, and was quite nervous as I’m not a baker whatsoever. The instructions were easy to follow and not too complicated! I’m glad that Laney added the note about the dough being sticky, because it had me worried when it went in the oven!
★★★★★
Hailey
I’ve never made strawberry shortcake but Laney made me feel like I could do it! I wasn’t very successful getting the cake out of the pan to cool but like she said in insta stories- it doesn’t have to be pretty. I loved that it was heavy on the whipped cream. The lemon really comes out nicely.
★★★★
Karlee
If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. This was extremely easy to make and such a crowd pleaser. My whole family was obsessed!!! Can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Meghan
So good! We made this for Mother’s Day and everyone loved it! I was expecting it to be sweeter but it was such a perfect balance with the whipped cream and strawberries! Definitely making again soon!
Rebecca
It was so good and such a hit for a Mother’s Day dessert! And super easy!
★★★★★
Jessica
So amazing! Made this for Mother’s Day and it was a HUGE HIT! The addition of the lemon really stands out! Cake not overly sweet, absolute perfection!
★★★★★
Claire
Made it for Mother’s Day yesterday, everyone loved it!
★★★★★
Jennifer
This shortcake is seriously the best I’ve ever made. It was simple and turned out perfectly.
★★★★★
Nicole
This was my one request for Mother’s Day and my fam totally delivered. Amazing and delicious!
★★★★★
Lauren Hobson
I have always wanted to make shortcake but assumed it was hard. As a non baker this recipe was so easy and its delicious. i made some lemon curd that we added as well! no more buying shortcakes for me. Will be making this again and again! Thanks for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Hayley
This is so good! Not too sweet, perfect for a summer dessert. Very refreshing and light. My whole family enjoyed it for Mother’s Day. You need to give it a try!
★★★★★
Chelsea
I made this for Mother’s Day and it was so perfect! Everything about it was super yummy and it was really simple to put together. Mine wasn’t as pretty as these pictures (lol) but still tasted excellent! I’ll definitely be making it again through spring and summer gatherings!
★★★★★
Sarah M
So yummy- even when I forgot to put the sugar into the cake! (Cue the crying face emoji). Another stellar recipe from you- keep in’ coming! 🙂
★★★★★
Sarah
Made our Mother’s Day Brunch extra special! So easy and absolutely delish!!!!
★★★★★
Angela
YUM! I made this for Mother’s Day brunch and everyone ages 2-72 loved it. I kept the cake intact and served the whipped cream and berries on top, just for easier serving purposes. It was so easy to make that my 5 year old was able to help a lot too (her favorite thing to do). The only change I made was increasing the powdered sugar to 1/2 cup for the whipped cream, solely because we prefer it a smidge sweeter. But the cake had the perfect touch of sweetness without being overpowering, especially with the whipped cream and strawberries. I’ll definitely be making this one again! Maybe I’ll do a mix of blueberries and strawberries for a 4th of July cake!
★★★★★
Chloe
Yum!! I made the shortcake in mini-bundts for individual servings! It came out perfectly, lightly sweet! The recipe was super simple and even easier to make than I expected! This will be in my regular summer rotation for sure!
★★★★★
Nicholle Burke
I will never buy store bought whipped cream or shortcake again! This recipe was so simple and was hands down the most delicious strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had. I didn’t have smaller pans so we did a single layer cake.
I was really worried after my cake was mixed because it was really sticky. Even though the recipe mentions this I was sure I screwed it up. I didn’t, it was perfect. This will be a staple desert. Perfect to bring to a party or event!
★★★★★
Nicholle Burke
I will never buy store bought whipped cream or shortcake again! This recipe was so simple and was hands down the most delicious strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had. I didn’t have smaller pans so we did a single layer cake.
I was really worried after my cake was mixed because it was really sticky. Even though the recipe mentions this I was sure I screwed it up. I didn’t, it was perfect. This will be a staple desert. Perfect to bring to a party or event!
★★★★★
Kathy
I’ve never used cake flour before so this was an experiment. Lol. I enjoyed it a lot but I think I would add something else to the cake next time. Maybe some lemon juice or vanilla? The whipped cream was perfect!
★★★★★
Sarah
Loved. First time making strawberry shortcake.
★★★★★
Tiffany Gonzalez
She knocked it out of the park with this one. The cake is so delicious by itself, topped with strawberries and fresh whipped cream, you can’t go wrong. It was super simple to make as well and a show stopper.
★★★★★
Leah
I love this recipe. It’s great because it’s really easy to make it dairy free!
★★★★★
Bre
Recipes usually say “it’s easy” and it’s the most complicated thing, this was EASY. I cannot believe how easy it was to make this! Not to mention it’s delicious!! My family truly thinks I’m a wizard and I’m going to forever let them believe it. Can’t wait to make it again with mixed berries.
★★★★★
Lisa Brock
My daughter wanted to make a strawberry shortcake for so long but I didn’t have a good recipe!!! Now we have the best most delicious recipe ever!! Thank you for sharing!! Love your inspiration and your recipes.
-Lisa B
★★★★★
Ashley De La Torre
Wow, just wow! I have always been so intimidated to make strawberry shortcake. This recipe was so easy and SO delicious! Definitely will be making again over and over for many years to come!
★★★★★
America
Easy and so delicious!
★★★★★
Jackie McKee
So good. I made this for Mothers Day/ My Birthday. And it was amazing.
Melissa
Delicious
★★★★★
Kristen Wade
Made this for Mother’s Day and it was a hit! Not overly sweet which allowed the strawberries to shine. We loves the addition of the lemon! Will be making this again very soon!
★★★★★
Yvette
Made this a few weeks ago for family gathering. Everyone loved it! The cake is perfect and not overwhelmingly sweet. Thanks for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Sarah Filchak
I found myself with way too many strawberries so made this and YUM!! I typically make individual shortcakes so this was a nice change. Next up I want to try the strawberry shortcake trifle 🤤
★★★★★
Shannon
The best ever!!! EVER!
Life is but a Dish
It’s one my faves too!