Julie Clark
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Amish Strawberry Shortcake
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This is the best Strawberry Shortcake because of the buttery sugar streusel topping that gets baked into the top. An easy shortcake recipe.
When I first got married, I received an Amish cookbook, Amish Cooking, as a gift at my wedding shower. I highly recommend this cookbook and have used it from Day 1.It is full of some wonderful, traditional Amish recipes such as oatmeal pie and this from scratch streusel topped strawberry shortcake.
About this Strawberry Shortcake Recipe:
You’re going to love this recipe because it is quick and easy. You know those little packaged shortcakes you see in the store sitting by the strawberries? Those don’t come anywhere close to the taste of this easy strawberry shortcake.
- Flavor: In general, shortcakes are very mild in flavor because you want the sweet strawberries to shine through. The sweetness in our recipe comes from the streusel topping. Yes, it’s an extra step to add the streusel topping, but you do not want to skip it. Trust me.
- Texture: It’s a thick dough that bakes up like a biscuit. By mixing it carefully and not over mixing, you’ll end up with a super soft, sugar topped shortcake that is good enough to eat on its own.
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.
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 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 shortening. Cut the ingredients together to make coarse crumbs.
- Add the milk and egg to the crumbs, 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 260 grams
- 4 teaspoons baking powder* 13 grams
- 3/4 teaspoon salt 6 grams
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 15 grams
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening** 62 grams
- 2/3 cup 2% milk 166 grams
- 1 large egg (beaten)
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 65 grams
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- To serve, top pieces of cake with strawberries, whipped cream, or ice cream.
Video
Notes
*Use aluminum free baking powder to prevent a metallic taste.
**You can use cold butter instead of shortening if you’d like. It will change the flavor and texture slightly, but it works well.
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!