Most recipes labeled strawberry shortcake cake are really just vanilla cake with berries piled on top. This one keeps the tender, biscuit-like layers that hold up to all those juicy sugared strawberries, and it serves twelve from a single 9-inch pan.
Why this recipe works
This “from scratch” cake recipe is worth the little bit of extra effort and is actually quite easy. This is a shortcake cake, not individual biscuits.
The texture of the cake is more like a biscuit than a pillowy, sponge cake, and that is exactly why it works. Those layers truly hold up to the juicy strawberries like strawberry shortcake should. And because this version is a whole cake rather than individual servings, I find it so much better when serving to multiple guests.
One thing before you start. This is a small dough and it is sensitive to how much flour goes into it, so weigh your flour if you can. A kitchen scale is the difference between a layer that splits cleanly and one that crumbles apart.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Please use the gram weights if you can. They are the difference between this cake working and this cake crumbling, and they are the reason I retested the whole recipe on a scale.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
STRAWBERRIES – These are the star of the show, so find gorgeous, plump, ripe berries. You will want two pounds, divided, because six to eight of the prettiest ones get set aside whole for the garnish on top before the rest are hulled, cut and macerated for the filling. All of the macerated berries go into the middle of the cake, not on top. Do not hull the garnish berries. Leaving the leaves on gives you that pop of green on top, and I like to leave some whole and cut others in half, then pile them on randomly rather than arranging them.
ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – 1 3/4 cups, or 210 grams. Weigh it. Too much flour is the single most common reason this cake turns out dry and crumbles when you split it, and the same measuring cup of flour can vary by 25 percent or more depending on how the flour got into it. A scale removes that variable completely. If you are measuring by volume, fluff the flour in the bag first, spoon it lightly into the cup, and level it off with the back of a knife. Never scoop the measuring cup through the bag, which packs it and is how people end up with far more flour than the recipe wants.
SHORTENING – 1/2 cup, or 94 grams. This is what gives the layer its tender, biscuit-like crumb, and it is the reason this cake tastes like shortcake instead of vanilla cake. Regular or butter flavored will both work fine. I have not tested this recipe with butter in place of the shortening, so I cannot promise the same texture if you swap it.
MILK – 1/3 cup, or 78 grams. I tested this most recently with 2% and it worked beautifully, so either whole or 2% will be great. I have not tested this recipe with any of the dairy free milks.
LEMON ZEST – Just a teaspoon, but do not skip it. It lifts everything and keeps the sweetness from feeling heavy. I zest lemons before juicing and slicing them for other recipes and usually have zest sitting in the freezer, so it is always on hand. You can work the other direction too and zest the lemon, then juice it and freeze the juice in ice cube trays.
HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM – Two cups whipped with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar, beaten only to medium-soft peaks. You want it firm but not stiff, because stiff whipped cream sits on top of the berries instead of settling into them. If you would rather not make your own, a tub of Cool Whip will do the job, but we make ours whenever we can. You can also try our stabilized whipped cream, a great substitute for Cool Whip. A hand mixer makes quick work of it.
BUTTER – Four tablespoons, softened, spread across the cut faces of both cake halves before the filling goes on. This is not a decorative step. The butter creates a barrier that slows the strawberry juice from soaking straight through the layer.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cake
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter or spray a 9-inch round cake pan.
- Remove 6 to 8 of the best looking berries and set them aside for the garnish. Do not hull these.
- Wash and hull the remaining berries, then cut them into fourths.
- Sprinkle the cut strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar and mash them slightly. Set them aside to macerate while you work.
- Beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar together until medium-soft peaks form. It should be firm but not stiff. Refrigerate until needed.
- In a medium bowl, combine the 1/4 cup sugar, flour, shortening, milk, egg, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.
- With a mixer at medium speed, beat the mixture until it is well combined. It will look crumbly and clumpy rather than smooth, and it will not gather into a ball on its own in the bowl. That is exactly right, so do not keep beating to try to bring it together and do not add more milk.
- Gather the dough in your hands. You should be able to form a dough ball. Put the dough ball into the prepared pan and press it evenly out to the edges with a spatula or your fingertips until the surface is level.
- Set the cake pan on a baking sheet and bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched. Start your timer the moment the oven door closes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and invert it onto a cutting board. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Give it the full 15, because the warmer the layer is, the more fragile it is.
- Using a bread knife, carefully split the warm shortcake in half horizontally with a long, gentle sawing motion. Plain, unflavored dental floss works well for this too. Expect a few crumbs along the cut edge. That is normal for a shortcake and not a sign anything has gone wrong.
- Slide a wide offset spatula or turner under the top half and carefully slide it onto a cooling rack. Set a second cooling rack upside down over it and invert so the cut side is facing up. Move the bottom half to its own rack. Both should be cut side up.
- Spread both cut faces evenly with the softened butter while the cake is still warm.
- Spoon all of the macerated strawberry mixture onto the bottom half of the cake, syrup and all.
- Spread half of the whipped cream over the berry layer.
- Place the other cake half on top and spread the remaining whipped cream across the top.
- Garnish with the reserved whole and halved berries.
How to macerate strawberries for shortcake
Macerating just means drawing the juice out of the fruit with sugar, and it is the step that turns plain cut strawberries into the syrupy filling that makes shortcake taste like shortcake.
Wash and hull your berries, then cut them into fourths. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of granulated sugar over roughly two pounds of cut berries and mash them lightly with a fork or the back of a spoon. That light mashing is what gets things going, because it breaks the surface of the fruit and lets the sugar pull the juice out. Leave them at room temperature while the cake bakes and cools, which is about 30 minutes in this recipe, and you will have soft, glossy berries sitting in their own syrup by the time you are ready to assemble.
Do not drain them. That syrup is the best part, and the buttered cut faces of the cake are there specifically to handle it.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
I retested this recipe weighing every ingredient, and the cause is almost always too much flour. A cup can vary by 25 percent depending on whether you scoop it through the bag or spoon it in and level it, and that much extra turns a tender layer dry. Weigh your flour. 1 3/4 cups should come to 210 grams.
After that, two things help. Give the cake its full 15 minutes to cool, and when you split it, use a long gentle sawing motion rather than pressing down, then slide the top half onto a cooling rack instead of carrying it on the spatula.
You do not have to, but this is the one recipe on the site where I am going to push you a little, because volume measuring is where this cake goes wrong for people. Measuring cups measure space, not amount. Two cooks can scoop the same cup from the same bag of flour and end up with weights that differ by a quarter, and in a dough this small that difference is the whole ballgame. A scale measures the actual amount, every single time, and it takes the guesswork out of it.
If you’ve been putting off buying one, don’t overthink it. The basic digital kitchen scale I use costs about what you will spend on the strawberries for this cake, takes up no room in a drawer, and will outlast most of the other things in your kitchen. Once you have it you will find yourself reaching for it constantly, especially for baking.
If you are measuring by volume for now, fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it gently into the measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife. Never pack it down and never scoop with the cup itself.
Texture, almost entirely. A regular cake is soft and airy, built to be light. Shortcake is closer to a rich, sweet biscuit. It uses a lot of fat and very little liquid, so instead of a pourable batter you get a thick dough that bakes into a sturdier, biscuit-like layer. That sturdiness is the point, because it is what lets the layer stand up to juicy strawberries instead of dissolving underneath them. This recipe is a shortcake cake, meaning it uses shortcake texture in a single round layer that gets split and filled, rather than baked as individual biscuits.
This recipe uses 1/3 cup of granulated sugar for the cut berries, which comes from roughly two pounds of strawberries once you have set the garnish berries aside. If your berries are very ripe and sweet already, you can pull that back slightly, but do not cut it too far. The sugar is doing the work of drawing out the juice, not just sweetening.
You can, and a tub of Cool Whip will hold its shape nicely. We prefer to whip our own when we can, because the flavor is better and it only takes a couple of minutes. Our homemade stabilized whipped cream is also a nice replacement for Cool Whip.
Technically you could, but I would not recommend it. Frozen strawberries need to be thawed and drained first, and they will not have the same consistency or appearance once they are. So much of what makes this cake a showstopper is the fresh fruit, those glossy red berries piled up over the whipped cream with their leaves still on. It is a genuinely beautiful cake when you carry it to the table, and thawed frozen berries will not give you that.
I have not tested this recipe with butter in place of the shortening, and there is a good reason to be cautious about it. Butter is only around 80 percent fat, and most of the rest is water, while shortening is essentially all fat. Swapping one for the other adds water this dough was never built to have, and extra water works against exactly the tender, biscuit-like crumb we are after here. If you try it, expect a different texture.
Storage and Freezing Information
You can assemble the whole cake and refrigerate it a day in advance, which is the easiest way to get ahead for a party. This cake plate with a dome is what I use for this. It keeps the whipped cream from picking up refrigerator smells, protects the garnish berries from getting knocked around, and means you can lift the lid and set the whole thing on the table without transferring anything. Let the cake sit at room temperature for a few minutes before slicing so the whipped cream softens slightly. Beyond a day the strawberry syrup keeps working its way into the layers.
You can also split the work rather than the timing. Macerate the strawberries and whip the cream a few hours ahead, keep both covered in the refrigerator, and bake the layer the same day you plan to serve it. Give the whipped cream a very brief re-whisk before assembling if it has loosened.
Cover any leftovers and refrigerate them. The cake is best the day it is made, but it holds well overnight and the second-day slice is still very good.
I have not tested freezing this one. While the cake and the whipped cream will likely hold up, the fresh garnish berries on top are not good freezer candidates, so I would make it fresh. However, if you don’t mind what those berries look like after freezing, you can cut the cake into slices and lay them out on a plate or baking sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment. Flash freeze for a couple of hours until firm, then wrap each slice in plastic wrap. To thaw, take the plastic off right away while the slice is still frozen and let it come to room temperature.
Serving Suggestions
This is a summer cookout cake more than anything else. It is what I make when there are twelve people in the backyard and I do not want to be assembling individual desserts while everyone waits. Serve it cold or at cool room temperature, cut into wedges with a serrated knife, and expect it to disappear. If you are taking it to someone else’s cookout, a plastic cake carrier with a locking lid will get it there with the berries still where you put them.
For a full spread, it sits well after something bright and green like our strawberry spinach salad with balsamic, which keeps the strawberry thread running through the meal without repeating it. It is also a natural Mother’s Day and Easter dessert, and it works beautifully on a Fourth of July table if you tuck a few blueberries in among the garnish berries.
Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside a slice if you want to push it over the top, and it goes beautifully with coffee for an afternoon rather than an evening dessert.
More Strawberry Desserts
Strawberries are my favorite fruit, hands down. If you want this same flavor in a different format, the first four below are the ones to look at. Here are more strawberry recipes I think you will love.
- Strawberry Shortcakes for the classic individual biscuit version
- Mini Strawberry Shortcake Cups for individual servings instead of slices
- Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs for a picnic or a party where nobody is sitting down
- Strawberry Shortcake Trifle for the layered version in a bowl
- Strawberry Dream Dessert
- Strawberry Icebox Cake
- Strawberry Lasagna
- Strawberry Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Pie
I found this original cake recipe in my favorite cookbook of all time, the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. I have changed it slightly by adding whipped cream to the inner layer and making a couple of other tweaks. If I could only keep one cookbook from my collection, it would be this one.
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Strawberry Shortcake Cake
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Pin It Rate ItIngredients
Shortcake
- 50 g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
- 210 g all-purpose flour (1 3/4 cup)
- 94 g shortening (1/2 cup)
- ⅓ cup milk (78g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (14g)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¾ teaspoon salt (5g)
Toppings/Filling
- 2 pounds strawberries (divided)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine softened
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- Dough appearance – The mixed dough looks crumbly and clumpy in the bowl, not smooth. That is correct. Do not keep beating to bring it together and do not add liquid. Gather it in your hands, form a ball, and press it into the pan.
- Flour – Weigh it. 1 3/4 cups should come to 210 grams. Too much flour is the number one reason this cake turns out dry and crumbles when split, and a measuring cup cannot tell you how much flour is actually in it. If you are measuring by volume, fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it into the cup, and level it off. Never scoop the cup through the bag.
- Shortening – Regular or butter flavored will both work. We have not tested this recipe with butter in place of the shortening, and the texture may differ if you swap it. We are going for biscuit texture, not sponge cake texture.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F. Butter or spray a 9-inch round cake pan.
Prepping
- Remove 6 to 8 of the best looking berries and set them aside for the garnish. Do not hull these. Wash and hull the remaining berries, then cut them into fourths. Sprinkle the cut strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar and mash them slightly. Set them aside to macerate while you work.2 pounds strawberries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- Beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar together until medium-soft peaks form. It should be firm but not stiff. Refrigerate until needed.2 cups heavy whipping cream, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
To Make the Shortcake
- In a medium bowl, combine the 1/4 cup sugar, flour, shortening, milk, egg, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.50 g granulated sugar, 210 g all-purpose flour, 94 g shortening, 1/3 cup milk, 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 3/4 teaspoon salt
- With a mixer at medium speed, beat the mixture until it is well combined. It will look crumbly and clumpy rather than smooth, and it will not gather into a ball on its own in the bowl. That is exactly right, so do not keep beating to try to bring it together and do not add more milk.
- Gather the dough in your hands. You should be able to form a dough ball. Put the dough ball into the prepared pan and press it evenly out to the edges with a spatula or your fingertips until the surface is level.
- Set the cake pan on a baking sheet and bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched. Start your timer the moment the oven door closes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and invert it onto a cutting board. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Give it the full 15, because the warmer the layer is, the more fragile it is.
- Using a bread knife, carefully split the warm shortcake in half horizontally with a long, gentle sawing motion. Plain, unflavored dental floss works well for this too. Expect a few crumbs along the cut edge. That is normal for a shortcake and not a sign anything has gone wrong.
- Slide a wide offset spatula or turner under the top half and carefully slide it onto a cooling rack. Set a second cooling rack upside down over it and invert so the cut side is facing up. Move the bottom half to its own rack. Both should be cut side up.
- Spread both cut faces evenly with the softened butter while the cake is still warm.4 tablespoons butter or margarine
Topping and Filling the Shortcake
- Spoon the macerated strawberry mixture onto the bottom half of the cake. Spread half of the whipped cream on top of the berry layer.
- Place other cake half on top and spread the remaining whipped cream across the top.
- To decorate, garnish with the reserved strawberries.
Expert Tips & FAQs
- Make ahead – Assemble the whole cake and refrigerate up to a day in advance. Let it sit at room temperature a few minutes before slicing. Beyond a day the strawberry syrup keeps soaking into the layers.
- Split the work instead – Macerate the berries and whip the cream a few hours ahead, refrigerate both, and bake the layer the day you serve it. Re-whisk the cream briefly if it has loosened.
- Storage – Cover and refrigerate leftovers. Best the day it is made, but the second-day slice is still very good.
- Freezing – Not tested, and the fresh garnish berries will not come back the same. If you want to anyway, slice the cake, lay the slices on a waxed paper or parchment lined plate or sheet, flash freeze a couple of hours until firm, then wrap each slice in plastic. Thaw by removing the plastic immediately while still frozen and letting it come to room temperature. Never thaw wrapped, and never in the refrigerator.
- Frozen strawberries – Not recommended. They have to be thawed and drained, and they will not look or feel the same.
Nutrition
The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.
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Cheryl says
Flavors were good but cake crumbled and looked a mess. Overall presentation was a zero. Leaving no time for it to cook before assembly made the whipped cream unstable but I was able to get it into the fridge quickly and that helped. I added a touch of vanilla to the cream.
Rochelle says
I agree with some of the comments above. The whipped cream needed a little more powdered sugar and perhaps a touch of vanilla. I enjoyed the zest in the cake, otherwise it would have tasted like cardboard because it was so dry (and I spooned and leveled the flour appropriately). I never got to assemble the cake as my hand slipped when I was inverting the cake and it crumbled. However, I did split the larger remaining pieces in half with a knife and assembled it more like a traditional strawberry shortcake individually. Not sure I’ll be trying this again.
Angela says
Terrible recipe. Cake crumbled and did not taste good.
All of my ingredients were fresh.
I followed the recipe to a T
Amanda Formaro says
I’m sorry you had trouble. This is a delicate cake and if you don’t measure properly, the cake can be too crumbly Sounds like you may have had too much flour or didn’t cut the cake in half while it was hot as the recipe instructs.
Bella says
This is a really bad recipe. I should have been more suspicious and read the comments when I was finished with my cake batter as it definitely seemed too dry after following instructions.
First it needs to be a bigger yield. Resulting cake is super thin. Second the batter is too dry. You end up with an incredibly dry batter which I thought maybe was normal for this type of cake. But there’s no way to attempt cutting this in half after baking.
For the whipped cream, for most peoples tastes it definitely needs more sugar.
My oven is pretty normal and the cake had to come out 6 minutes early. Don’t go by the timing instructions if you try this recipe. But I don’t recommend trying this recipe, find another.
Amanda Formaro says
I’m sorry you had trouble. This recipe always works for me, but baking is a science. If you measure anything incorrectly, it will ruin the whole thing. The cake IS supposed to be thin and has a texture similar to a biscuit, like traditional strawberry shortcakes.
Ryan says
I actually just have a question before I make this, what size cake pan is recommended
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Ryan! The printable version of the recipe at the bottom of the post has the full recipe ingredients, measurements, pan sizes, and instructions. The pan size is 9-inch. Hope that helps :)
Carly says
I’m sorry but there’s no way to cut this cake layer in half and make the picture shown. It’s way too brittle. It should’ve been made with 2 separate cake layers. The whip cream also needed much more powdered sugar for that ratio of whipping cream. Super disappointed.
Amanda Formaro says
I’ve made this cake many times, and while it is delicate, I’ve been able to cut it in half every time. Be careful when measuring your ingredients as it can affect the texture of baked goods. For example, 1 cup of flour measured with the spoon and sweep method yields 4.5 ounces. However, 1 cup of flour scooped out of the bag using the measuring up can yield an entire ounce more.
Sarah says
Partner and I tried to recreate this recipe but it tasted like lemon bread instead of shortcake. (It still tasted good though but not what we wanted) an hour after eating it we both started to feel ill.
Amanda Formaro says
If you started to feel ill that sounds like one or more of your ingredients may have been bad. I’ve never experienced this cake tasting strongly of lemon.
LynneP says
I had the same crumbling issue with the cake. I followed the recipe exactly as it was given. I think the batter was too dry. I would revise the recipe with an added note that suggest you add more milk a teaspoon at a time until you get a smooth consistency.
This was very frustrating to get to this point in the recipe and have the cake just crumble into pieces. Especially when it could have been an easy fix.
Che says
Someone in my family strongly suggests that I maceration the strawberries overnight. It’s that necessary?
Amanda Formaro says
No it’s not necessary.
Andie says
Does it make a big difference if I use butter instead of shortening??
Amanda Formaro says
Shortening will provide a different texture than butter.
Deepa says
Made this for family and they loved it. Thank you. One question – I followed the recipe to the letter and I thought the shortcake tasted of a tad bit too much baking powder (texture was great). Have you tried reducing the bp? Will it mess up the biscuit?
Amanda Formaro says
I’ve never noticed that. Was your baking powder expired?
Tanner says
I’m in the midst of making this and the only question I have is where is the butter used? It calls for 4 tablespoons but never says where to use it. I’m guessing it’s for the cake since my cake is not ideal looking. This could be where the others also had trouble
Amanda Formaro says
It does state in the recipe where to use the butter. You spread it on the sliced layers:
“Spread both halves of the cake evenly with softened butter.”
Kristen says
How many does this feed? Hoping to make it for a party this weekend.
Kristen says
Never mind! I see it now, 12 servings
Alex says
Just made this – was awesome and so easy. The shortcake was perfect – more biscuit line than spongey cake. Cut beautifully- looked just like the picture!
Hayley says
Hoping to make this tomorrow. How long can it sit, assembled, before enjoying?
Amanda Formaro says
You should be able to make this a day ahead and store in the fridge.
Bryana says
Made this for fathers day! It turned out amazing. I used butter instead. Cutting the cake part was a tad challenging but I managed! 5/5 stars! Ill be making this again
Levy says
Hi,
Is it really 450 F oven temp?
Amanda Formaro says
Yes, the cake is only in the oven for 15 minutes.
Linetti says
I made this strawberry shortcake for the first time. And I’m not a baker. It was perfect! My friends think it was professionally done. Haha I wish I could show you the pic and the taste was excellent! I’m making this again. I’m just too proud of myself. Haha thanks for this recipe!
Sarah says
I followed this recipe to a T and it turned out horrible… the cake was very thin and crumbled when I tried to cut it. I don’t understand what I did wrong, but I followed every part of the recipe exactly as it is written… more like a dump cake. Not pretty at all.
Amanda Formaro says
Sorry you had trouble. I’ve never had that experience and have made this recipe several times. Without being in your kitchen with you I am unable to troubleshoot.
Connor says
Mine did the same!
Heidi says
Same. I measure every perfectly and followed the recipe step by step :( it’s a crumbly mess
Amanda Formaro says
I wish I could help. We have tested this recipe multiple times without issues. You can see that in our photos as well as our video. I have not been able to replicate this problem and many people have been able to make the cake without these issues. We will continue to try and trouble shoot and will of course let you know what (if anything) we discover!
Gladys says
I made this for Mother’s Day and it was a huge hit! My mom is in her 90s and she used to make strawberry shortcakes all the time, it’s her favorite dessert. She was so impressed by this cake! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My mom may not have many Mother’s Days left, and this really made this one special.