Julie Clark
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Strawberry Topping
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Fresh, sweet strawberries are simmered to make this sweet Strawberry Topping with a hint of lemon and vanilla that beats store-bought syrup any day. Serve on shortcake, pancakes, pound cake, ice cream….the possibilities are endless!
Do you have a strawberry patch in your garden? We planted a small patch of strawberries at our old house and ate them as soon as they were ready.
Eating strawberries fresh is my favorite way to eat them. Ok…that is a slight lie. If I had my choice, I’d eat this shortcake recipe with this homemade strawberry topping every day.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this strawberry sauce:
- What is strawberry sauce made of?
- A Secret Ingredient
- How to Make Strawberry Topping
- Why is my strawberry sauce not thickening?
- What to Serve with Strawberry Topping
- Can I blend this to make a smooth strawberry sauce?
- How do you store homemade strawberry topping?
- Can you freeze strawberry sauce?
- Homemade Strawberry Topping with Secret Ingredient Recipe
Why you’ll love this strawberry sauce:
- made with fresh strawberries
- a light syrup
- ready in 20 minutes
- perfect topping for cakes and ice creams
What is strawberry sauce made of?
For this recipe you’ll need:
- Strawberries. This strawberry sauce recipe works with fresh or frozen berries.
- Sugar. To sweeten the sauce. I have not tried using any sugar substitute and prefer standard granulated sugar.
- Water. Water gives the strawberry sauce a base and allows the strawberries to soften on the stovetop without scorching.
- Vanilla. Vanilla extract adds a warm, familiar flavor to the strawberry sauce.
- Lemon juice. This adds flavor and complements the sweet strawberries.
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch is a thickening agent and helps the strawberry sauce not be too runny.
- Salted butter. Our secret ingredient. Read more ⬇️
A Secret Ingredient
What makes our strawberry sauce the best? Butter. After the sauce is done cooking you’ll add a tablespoon of butter to the sauce. This makes a deliciously rich strawberry sauce. Don’t skip it…trust me!
How to Make Strawberry Topping
- In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the strawberries, sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring often. Reduce heat and add the vanilla and lemon juice.
- In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water. Mix well.
- Pour this into the boiling strawberry mixture. Stir and boil over medium-low heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix until the butter has completely melted. Again…this is the secret! Don’t skip it.
- If you’d like your strawberry syrup to have a nice red color, add a few drops of red food coloring. This is completely optional.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the last cup of quartered, fresh strawberries. This allows you to have nice chunks of strawberries instead of small strawberry pieces.
Why is my strawberry sauce not thickening?
What happens if your strawberry sauce is watery? Most often, strawberry sauce is watery when it hasn’t cooked long enough.
The easiest way to thicken strawberry sauce is to let it simmer for longer. As it cooks, water will evaporate and the cornstarch slurry will have time to thicken the sauce.
Here’s some other things to consider:
- Sugar. Don’t lower the sugar content or use a sugar substitute. These can both lead to a watery sauce.
- Strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, allow them to thaw and drain before making the sauce. This will help you start off with less moisture to cook out.
- Cooling. The sauce may thicken slightly as it cools.
What to Serve with Strawberry Topping
The possibilities are endless, really. Serve on waffles, pancakes, Jell-O cake, shortcake, blend them with ice cream for a milkshake.
Whatever your desire, this simple homemade strawberry syrup recipe with a touch of lemon juice and a hint of vanilla is going to be one you want to save and share with your family and friends this summer.
Can I blend this to make a smooth strawberry sauce?
Yes! If you don’t want chunks of strawberries in your strawberry sauce, blend the sauce with an immersion blender (or regular blender) after cooking to the smoothness that you’d like.
How do you store homemade strawberry topping?
Store the strawberry sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze strawberry sauce?
Yes! You can freeze the strawberry sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Homemade Strawberry Topping with Secret Ingredient
Fresh, sweet strawberries are simmered to make a sweet Homemade Strawberry Topping with a hint of vanilla and lemon that beats store-bought syrup any day.
Servings 8
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 additional cup of quartered strawberries
- red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the strawberries, sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring often. Reduce heat and add the vanilla and lemon juice.
- In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water. Mix well.
- Pour this into the boiling strawberry mixture. Stir and boil over medium-low heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix until the butter has completely melted.
- If you’d like your strawberry syrup to have a nice red color, add a few drops of red food coloring. This is completely optional.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the last cup of quartered, fresh strawberries.
- Serve over whatever dessert you’d like!
- Refrigerate the leftovers.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 8, with one serving being ⅛ of the recipe. 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.**
Nutrition
Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 79mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 28.2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.2mg
So good I used one tablespoon lemon juice to replace one tablespoon water. Didn’t make it real thick so it was pourable. Delicious will try some butter next time
Love this topping on my cheesecake. I have made this twice for company and they loved it.
Thank you for the easy recipe.
Great recipe…I even used frozen fresh strawberries from last summer and sauce was delicious. Adding the pat of butter was a hint of genius👍.
After tasting, I found it a little too sweet, and I even reduced the amount of sugar. Thus time I’m just going to increase the water. But Amazing!!
Been DYING for strawberry sauce. I used to buy it by the gallon, (separate and freeze it) from a chain restaurant I worked for but they quit buying it, haven’t had it since and that was a few years ago. Just made this tonight, it’s cooling right now, it looks and smells amazing! I was hesitant about the butter but thought I’d give it a try. Got my vanilla ice cream on standby lol can’t wait 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. My brothers and I are having strawberry shortcake and no one knew how to make the sauce. Thanks again!!!????
Have you tried it wid frozen strawberries? Would it still taste as good ?
Would it be possible to can this recipe? If so, do the strawberries maintain their integrity?
DELICIOUS….used on a homemade cheesecake and everyone wanted this recipe!
Is it okay to use margarine instead of butter ?
How long will it keep?
I’m going to make this and serve with Banana Pancakes yummy
This was delicious! The little bit of butter at the end really made the sauce extra special. My new go-to for strawberry shortcake! Thanks so much for a great recipe.
Using Almond extract instead of vanilla makes for a nice flavor
So pretty! I put strawberries on everything possible. 🙂
Scrumptious! I can’t get enough of the berries this spring!