Strawberry shortcake is one of the easiest, most simple desserts ever. Strawberry shortcake is just three elements: some sort of sweet biscuit, whipped cream, and strawberries that have been macerated in sugar. It’s really that simple! Simple, but perfect.

HOMEMADE SWEET BISCUITS

For the cake part of these shortcakes I actually just took my favorite 5-ingredient freezer biscuits recipe, added a bit more sugar to make them dessert-like, and shaped them into a more rustic round shape. They worked perfectly for the strawberry shortcakes because of their super tender crumb that absorbed the strawberry syrup like a champ.

This recipe did make 8 biscuits and I think the strawberries and cream are only enough for about six, so save the extra two biscuits to top with butter and jam for breakfast. You can thank me later.

HOMEMADE VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM

And since I already had a whipping cream to make the biscuits, I decided to go ahead and make my own whipped cream, too. If you’ve never make your own homemade whipped cream, you’ve got to give it a try. It’s surprisingly easy and tastes so much better than what you get in the tub or can. You can do it by hand with a whisk, or use a mixer if you don’t feel like working your triceps. Either way it takes all but three minutes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. fresh strawberries
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Sweet Biscuits

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups whipping cream

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Rinse the strawberries well, then remove the stems and leaves by scooping them out with a spoon. Slice the strawberries lengthwise into about four slices each. Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl, add 2 Tbsp sugar, stir, and set them aside. The sugar will draw out the juice from the strawberries as they sit and create a delicious strawberry syrup. Stir the strawberries as they sit.

Begin to on the oven to 400ºF for the biscuits. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl until they are very well combined.

Add the whipping cream to the bowl with the flour and stir until a sticky dough forms and no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.

Dust your hands with flour, then make in parts the dough into eight pieces, and roughly shape the pieces into circles, about an inch to an inch and a half thick. Place the shaped biscuits onto the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until they are lightly golden brown on top.

While the biscuits are baking, prepare the vanilla whipped cream. Add the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla to a glass or metal bowl. Whisk vigorously by hand, or use a mixer, until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over whisk the cream.

Once the biscuits have baked, let them sit until they are cool enough to handle. Carefully slice the biscuits in half. Spoon some of the strawberries and strawberry syrup from the bottom of the bowl onto the bottom of each biscuit. Top with a large dollop of whipped cream, then the top half of the biscuit. Finish each stack off with one more dollop of whipped cream, a few strawberry slices, and a drizzle of the strawberry syrup.