Indulge in the perfect summer dessert with this easy sourdough strawberry shortcakes recipe featuring flaky, buttery biscuits, whipped cream, and strawberries. While there are three components to this recipe, they're each quite simple to make and the strawberries and whipped cream can be made as the shortcakes freeze and bake. The sourdough shortcakes also be made and frozen in advance.
Line a half-sheet baking pan with parchment paper.In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the shortcakes.
300 g All-purpose flour, ½ tsp Kosher Salt, 1 TBS Baking Powder, ½ tsp Baking Soda, 50 g Granulated Sugar
Grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl and use a fork to distribute it until coated in the dry ingredients.
170 g Unsalted Butter
In another bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and sourdough discard until the discard isn't clumpy.Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour all of the liquid into the bowl. Use a fork to toss it all together until many dough clumps form. The dough will still be quite dry.
180 g Buttermilk, 120 g Sourdough Discard
Dump the shortcake dough out onto a clean surface and pat it into a rectangle about an inch tall.To bring the dough together more and for many flaky layers, use the bench scraper to lift one half of the dough up and over the other half. Pat the dough again to one inch tall and repeat the folding and patting process at least five times. Each time, the dough will hydrate more and increase the amount of layers.The final time, pat the dough 1 ½ inches high and use a floured 2.5-3 inch biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out the shortcakes and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Cut straight down and don't twist so the layers are not ruined.Re-roll the scraps and repeat until you have 8-10 shortcakes.
For best results, freeze the shortcakes for at least 30 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
Once preheated, remove the shortcake biscuits from the freezer and brush them with a couple of tablespoons of buttermilk and sprinkle the tops with raw sugar. Bake for 20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown.
2 TBS Raw Sugar
Macerate the Strawberries
As the shortcakes bake, macerate the strawberries. Combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract in a bowl and let them rest for at least 30 minutes or until the strawberries are soft and the juices are flowing.
Right before assembly, make the whipped cream.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), whisk together the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.
210 g Heavy Cream, 2 TBS Granulated Sugar, 1 pinch Kosher Salt
Assembly
To assemble, split the sourdough shortcakes open with a fork and spoon the macerated stawberries and some of their juices over the biscuits. Then, dollop with whipped cream.