Julie Clark
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Amish Strawberry Shortcake
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This is the best Strawberry Shortcake because of the buttery sugar streusel topping that gets baked into the top. An easy shortcake recipe.
Table of Contents
When I first got married, I received an Amish cookbook, Amish Cooking, as a gift at my wedding shower. I highly recommend this cookbook and have used it from Day 1.It is full of some wonderful, traditional Amish recipes such as oatmeal pie and this from scratch streusel topped strawberry shortcake.
About this Strawberry Shortcake Recipe:
You’re going to love this recipe because it is quick and easy. You know those little packaged shortcakes you see in the store sitting by the strawberries? Those don’t come anywhere close to the taste of this easy strawberry shortcake.
- Flavor: In general, shortcakes are very mild in flavor because you want the sweet strawberries to shine through. The sweetness in our recipe comes from the streusel topping. Yes, it’s an extra step to add the streusel topping, but you do not want to skip it. Trust me.
- Texture: It’s a thick dough that bakes up like a biscuit. By mixing it carefully and not over mixing, you’ll end up with a super soft, sugar topped shortcake that is good enough to eat on its own.
How to Prepare Strawberries for Shortcake
For the fresh strawberries, you’ll want to plan ahead. They’ll need 3-4 hours at minimum to sit in the fridge and create all of those sweet juices that will sink into your shortcake.
Cut and quarter about 4 pounds of strawberries (more or less, depending on how many you need to serve) and sprinkle about ½ cup of sugar on them. Add more or less sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries and the taste you would like. This process is called macerating strawberries. The sugar pulls out the juices, so mix that sugar into the strawberries, cover the bowl and pop it in the fridge.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake
There’s no need to use an electric mixer for this because you don’t want to over mix it. Simply use a bowl and a heavy duty spoon.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9×9″ baking pan with cooking spray. You can also line the pan with parchment paper if you want to easily be able to remove the entire shortcake.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and shortening. Cut the ingredients together to make coarse crumbs.
- Add the milk and egg to the crumbs, mixing just until combined. Do not over mix or the shortcake will be tough. You want it to be tender. The batter will be very thick.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, use two forks or a pastry cutter to cut together the flour, sugar and butter. This mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle it on top of the shortcake batter.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes. Many times that amount of shortcake is just not enough, so I double it and put it in a 9×13 pan. I didn’t have to bake it any longer when I did this, and was surprised by that. If you decide to double the recipe, leave extra time for a few more minutes baking, just in case. And sometimes when I double it, I double the topping…because like I said…the topping is the best part!
Homemade Whipped Cream
You can top strawberry shortcake with Cool Whip, whipped cream in a can, ice cream or simply with heavy cream poured on top.
But what I love most is homemade whipped cream. It’s so easy! Simply pour a cup of heavy whipping cream and about ⅓ to ½ cup of powdered sugar in a stand mixer. Add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, then using the whisk attachment, whip on high speed until soft peaks form. That’s it!
Cover and refrigerate homemade whipped cream until you are ready to serve it.
Recipe Variations
- Love lemon? Try adding lemon zest to the batter and a little bit of fresh lemon juice to the strawberries.
- More fruit is always a good idea. Try adding raspberries and blueberries.
The Best Strawberry Shortcake
The streusel topping on this Amish Strawberry Shortcake makes a delicious shortcake that can be served many different ways!
Servings 9
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Ingredients
For the strawberries:
- 4 pounds strawberries (cleaned, hulled and quartered)
- 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
For the shortcake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 260 grams
- 4 teaspoons baking powder* 13 grams
- 3/4 teaspoon salt 6 grams
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 15 grams
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening** 62 grams
- 2/3 cup 2% milk 166 grams
- 1 large egg (beaten)
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 1/2 cup granulated flour 65 grams
- 3 tablespoons salted butter cold
Instructions
Prepare the strawberries:
- The strawberries will need about 3-4 hours to sit in the fridge and make juice, so plan ahead. In a large bowl, mix together the cut strawberries and sugar. You can add more sugar as you'd like. Cover and place in the fridge.
Make the shortcake:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9×9" baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and shortening. Cut the ingredients together to make coarse crumbs.
- Add the milk and egg to the crumbs, mixing just until combined. Do not over mix or the shortcake will be tough. It will be very thick.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, use two forks or a pastry cutter to cut together the flour, sugar and butter. This mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle it on top of the shortcake batter.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- To serve, top pieces of cake with strawberries, whipped cream, or ice cream.
Video
Notes
*Use aluminum free baking powder to prevent a metallic taste.
**You can use cold butter instead of shortening if you’d like. It will change the flavor and texture slightly, but it works well.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 9 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake with strawberries on top. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 401kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 559mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 189IU | Vitamin C: 119mg | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 3mg
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Hi! Would it be possible to freeze this and still have it taste good?!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I used a bit of a variation (ok a lot of variation). I made this recipe using almond and coconut flour, need to add gaur gum to help bind. For a bit of fun I candied some beets using simple syrup. I used the juice from the beets along with half and half as the liquid. What an amazing red color to the batter. Leaving the streusel as is… Makes for a fun contrasting biscuit. Going to use the beets with the berries… I know not traditional… Thank you again for the inspiration to… Read more »
Hi Julie,
Im making the shortcake now and have just a couple questions…
– Once the dough is completely mixed together, should it have a pretty stick consistency?
– You mention the topping mixture should be “crumby”…does that mean I should use cold butter and cut it into the sugar and flour?
Thanks!
Hi There!
Do you think I’d be able to make this recipe using muffin tins instead of 1 large pan?
Soooooo good!!!! I grated the cold butter and barely had to stir it in. I also melted the butter for the topping, which made easy mixing. This recipe is going in my recipe book! TY!
So so hood and I dont do alot of baking I added a extra spoon of sugar to both mixes and it was just right with my sweet strawberrys love it
Ionwould use store cups now I will make this all the time I dibbled added 1 1/2 table spoons sugar to mix and 1 table to topping I eat it alone and have been eating strawberry all week so so good love it oh i dont bake much as a man i only like making pies
Fantastic!
I totally WOWed my office with this. I made real whipped cream to go with it: 1pint heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup sour cream, 2 tsps vanilla and powdered sugar to taste. I used 1/4 cup. People were amazed by it.
Thanks for the recipe! I like that it has the traditional biscuit texture without the work of rolling and cutting. The streusel added a nice, buttery crunch. I use unbromated flour, and I always forget to reduce the amount of flour accordingly, so my streusel was a little too dry. A tablespoon of heavy cream made it come together nicely. I also added a pinch of salt to the streusel, since I use unsalted butter. I made my cake with lard, and it was very tender and fluffy. (Like many of you, I grew up in a predominantly-Amish area. Lard… Read more »
I made this shortcake as the foundation for strawberry shortcake for breakfast this morning (and one or two future uses). The recipe is elegant: easy to make, requires no floured surface, and neat in baking and serving. The streusel adds a nice unexpected texture. My lovely wife enjoyed it very much.
Possible variants:
— Add a teaspoon or so of molasses to the egg as you beat it before mixing it with the milk.
— Use half-and-half instead of milk, and ignore the nutrition facts kindly provided above.
— Use plain bread crumbs instead of flour for the streusel.
By far the best shortcake I have ever made, great crumb and holds up well to the juices and ice cream. Added a little cinnamon, nutmeg & cardamom to the topping. Great recipe and easy to make. I’ll use this for fresh peaches as well. My friends agree, my mistake for inviting them for ‘a’ bite.
Thanks
Bob Gurth
How far in advance can I make the recipe? I have company coming and am wondering if I can make it ahead and refrigerate for two days or if I should just put it in the oven when we are serving dinner. Thanks! Look forward to sharing the shortcake love!
OMG! I love to bake and I have tried several biscuits for shortcake…this is awesome! I did use butter in the cake, as well as in the topping and it was incredible…It doesn’t happen often, but I am writing this one down on a card and it is going into my recipe box! Thank you!!!!
Made this for Easter and it was a huge hit! I doubled it, and accidentally forgot to add the sugar in the cake itself and it still turned out great. The topping is amazing and it looked exactly like the picture too. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
I find recipes for shortcake r 2 dry I use a little orange liqueur with sugar to macerate berries and add one small frozen Berry bag along with it for juice. Use fresh whipped cream what’s difference it makes