Julie Clark
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Streusel-Topped Strawberry Shortcake (Amish Recipe That Feeds a Crowd)
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This isn’t the shortcake you buy next to the strawberries at the grocery store. This is a from-scratch, pan-style Amish shortcake with a buttery sugar streusel baked right into the top. And that streusel is the whole reason people keep coming back for it.
It bakes in a 9×9 pan and cuts into 9 generous squares, which makes it perfect for summer cookouts or potlucks. No mixer needed. No individual biscuits to fuss with. Just thick, tender shortcake with a crackly sweet top and juicy macerated strawberries piled on top.
The recipe comes from an Amish cookbook I received at my wedding shower, and after 27+ years of making it, I haven’t found anything I’d trade it for.
What Makes This Shortcake Recipe Different
Most strawberry shortcake recipes give you a biscuit. This one gives you a thick, soft pan cake with a crumbly butter-and-sugar streusel baked right on top. That tender inside crumb and slightly crunchy sweet top is why people ask for the recipe every time.
Flavor: The shortcake itself is only lightly sweet so the juicy strawberries stay the star. All the sweetness lives in that streusel topping. Don’t skip it.
Texture: Thick biscuit-style crumb that bakes up soft, tender and golden brown. The key is not over-mixing. Stir just until the dough comes together and stop.
Try our easy strawberry cheesecake trifle and oatmeal pie, too!
What’s the difference between this Amish shortcake and a regular biscuit shortcake?
Traditional biscuit-style shortcakes are cut into individual rounds and split before serving. This Amish version bakes in a square 9×9 pan and cuts into 9 squares, which makes it far easier to serve a crowd. Need more? Double it into a 9×13 with the same bake time.
What are the ingredients in shortcake?
Shortcake has 7 simple ingredients that are pantry staples.
In the shortcake, the original recipe calls for shortening instead of butter. Butter makes it rich, shortening allows the sugar flavor to shine through. I like the shortening, but make it with butter the most often since readers love the butter!
Use aluminum free baking powder since there are 4 teaspoons to prevent any metallic aftertaste.
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.
These strawberries are great served on our homemade strawberry angel food cake and frozen custard, too!
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 large mixing 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 butter or shortening. Cut the ingredients together to make coarse crumbs.
- Add the milk and egg to the dry ingredients, 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.
Other Strawberry Shortcake Recipes
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
- 4 teaspoons baking powder*
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup butter or vegetable shortening**
- 2/3 cup 2% milk
- 1 large egg (beaten)
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 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. 4 pounds strawberries, ½ cup sugar
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. 2 cups all-purpose flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder*, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, ⅓ cup butter or vegetable shortening**
- 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. 2/3 cup 2% milk, 1 large egg
- 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. ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons salted butter
- Bake for 25 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
*Double-acting baking powder works best here. If your baking powder has been open more than 6 months, test it before using. Use aluminum free baking powder to prevent a metallic taste.
**Vegetable shortening (like Crisco) keeps the shortcake tender. Butter can be substituted but will produce a slightly denser, richer result.
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
This came out great! I’m also thankful for the video because after I mixed the dough I though uh-oh because it was so thick. But it was just as it was supposed to be and it came out with good crumb and flavor. (The crumble so sweet and yummy)
It seemed to be a very forgiving recipe so I don’t think new cooks should shy away from making it.
Thank you again for sharing. I can’t wait to try the scones.
The shortbread cake is so yummy! The cake absorbed the juice from the strawberries but did not fall a part. I even had some for the next day for breakfast. Best shortbread ever! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Perfect!! Absolutely the best! Never eating nasty little sponge cakes again! The strudel topping was perfect!
Thank you!!
I made the Amish Shortcake today for a birthday celebration. First time and I’m very happy !
The birthday girl thought this was delicious! Thank you. This is a keeper!
Well it is strawberry time again in florida. So now I need a good shortcake so I took out the best I have had and keep making it every one always wants more
But I get to it frist lol so thank you
For a super recipe
Can I use this recipe for 3 6-inch pans< I'd like to stack layers for my cousins birthday? Also what are your thoughts on using this recipe for cupcakes?
I just made this today and it was perfect! It will be added to my list and even my baby blog for the small about of sugar is pretty spot on! I think adding fruit before the topping would turn it into a wonderful coffee cake. I am excited to explore more of your recipes. Are you on Instagram by chance?
— Theresa
Major hit with family and friends.
Excellent! I doubled the recipe and baked in a 13×9 pan for 30 minutes. I used butter instead of shortening. And, I used my food processor to cut in the butter. The topping really does take it up a notch from regular shortcake.
Friends and hubby love this!
I made this 3 times I had no problem in even just take a slice and put butter on it or eat it plain also like to put jelly on it
Love it but i use baking power not soda
Topping and cake were good but that horrible baking soda taste ruined it! It was like eating metal! Why are there 4 tsp of baking soda?? Way too much. Cut back to 1 or 2 and maybe that would help. Had to throw this out!
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!