A classic summer dessert to make all season long: brown sugar strawberry shortcakes. Made special with the addition of rich brown sugar, a little lemon zest, vanilla & almond extracts, homemade strawberry jam and fresh macerated strawberries. There’s just nothing like ending a summer night on this sweet and simple note!
This recipe is made in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.
brown sugar strawberry shortcakes – the details
When it comes to dessert in the summertime, I think of cold treats, no-bake recipes, and using up all the in-season summer fruit. But nothing screams summer as much as strawberry shortcakes.
We used to eat the store-bought version (those little yellow packaged cakes topped with fresh strawberries and reddi-wip) all the time as kids, so it’s extra satisfying to now create a homemade version.
One with irresistibly tender and flavorful shortcakes, plus plenty of sweet, rich strawberries, and that final touch of freshly whipped cream.
The shortcake dough comes together in the food processor so it’s really easy to whip up. For such a staple recipe, it’s only fitting I’m using one of my most essential baking ingredients: Bob’s Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour. It’s an unbleached flour that’s really high in quality, resulting in shortcakes with incredible texture.
I flavor the dough with a little lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract to keep it interesting. Not one flavor is overpowering, though, so it’s a subtle touch.
While the shortcakes bake, you can work on both of the strawberry components. You’ll cook some of the strawberries on the stovetop with brown sugar and lemon juice until soft and jammy. While the rest of the strawberries get tossed with more brown sugar and lemon zest in a mixing bowl to be macerate in the fridge.
I love the mix of the strawberry jam and macerated strawberries for a unique flavor/texture combination, but if you want to keep these even simpler, you can just double the macerated strawberries!
The final component is the cream. Heavy cream gets whipped with powdered sugar and vanilla until very soft peaks are formed. Keep a close eye on it as it whips. If you whip too long, the cream will become tough instead of silky-smooth and luxurious.
Add these to the end of any summer meal for a crowd-pleasing, quintessential summer treat!
PrintBrown Sugar Strawberry Shortcakes
golden, buttery shortcakes topped with brown sugar strawberry jam, macerated strawberries, and whipped cream
yield: 8 shortcakes
Ingredients
Shortcakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ lb unsalted butter, cold + cubed
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pure almond extract
- ⅔ cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tbsp sugar in the raw
Strawberries
- 2 lbs strawberries, stemmed + quartered
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp water
- kosher salt
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Shortcakes
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse to form coarse crumbs. Add in the lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extracts. With the processor running, drizzle in the ⅔ cup of heavy cream until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (it should be somewhat of a wet dough).
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roughly form it into a disk. Use a 2-oz ice cream scoop to generously scoop 8 dough balls onto the prepared sheet pan. Chill for 20 minutes. Use the additional 1 tablespoon of heavy cream to brush onto the tops of each dough ball. Sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Let the shortcakes cool to your desired temperature. Serve slightly warm with the strawberry jam, macerated strawberries, and whipped cream (recipes below) over top or cool completely before serving.
Strawberries
- Add half of the quartered strawberries, half of the brown sugar, lemon juice, water, and a pinch of salt to a 2qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Stir well and boil for 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring often, until thickened and jammy. Turn off the heat and cool to fully thicken.
- Meanwhile, add the remaining strawberries, half of the brown sugar, and lemon zest to a mixing bowl. Toss to combine and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to macerate.
Whipped Cream
- Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip the cream until frothy.
- Add the powdered sugar. Continue to whip until soft peaks form, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in the vanilla extract.
