Strawberry shortcakes recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

An American classic, shortcakes are similar to British scones but with a much flakier texture, enriched by the addition of milk, double cream or sometimes soured cream. Piled high with whipped cream and syrupy strawberries, they are part of the American fabric of life. Served slightly warm fresh from the oven, you’ll soon see why

Sarah Akhurst

Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill

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Ingredients

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Step by step

1. Start by macerating the strawberries. Put the strawberries in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and the lemon juice (reserving the lemon zest for the shortcakes). Set aside for at least 2 hours to soften and create a nice strawberry syrup.
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7 and line a large baking tray. Put the flour in a bowl with the baking powder, caster sugar, salt and lemon zest and stir to combine. Grate in the cold butter and use your fingertips to crumble it through the flour mixture. Whisk the whole egg with the double cream and buttermilk and then slowly begin to add this to the dry ingredients, forking it through the mixture until everything comes together. Knead with your hands to shape the dough into a ball.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and then roll into a rectangle. Cut into four and stack each square on top of each other. Press down with a rolling pin and re-roll into another rectangle. Repeat the cutting and stacking process to create more layers, and then roll out to about 2cm thick. Using a 5.5-6cm square cutter (or freehand with a knife), cut out 8 shortcakes, gathering the offcuts and re-rolling as necessary. Place the shortcakes on the lined baking tray. Lightly beat the egg white and brush over the tops, then sprinkle with the extra 1 tablespoon of caster sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden and well risen.
4. Put the double cream, vanilla and icing sugar in a bowl and whip to soft peaks. While the shortcakes are still slightly warm, halve and add a generous dollop of the vanilla cream to each of the bases. Top with the syrupy strawberries and finish with the top of the shortcake.