When fresh, sweet, juicy strawberries appear at the farmer’s market or in your home garden, the first thing that comes to mind is strawberry shortcake. The easy dessert showcases strawberries in all their sweet glory. That’s why it’s at the top of the list of our recipes to make with fresh strawberries! For a super-cute, super-fun variation of the classic, you’ve got to try the mini strawberry shortcake.
Fortunately, mini strawberry shortcake doesn’t require miniature berries. (If you run across a patch of tiny wild strawberries, however, snap them up, because each little fruit pops with flavor.) Otherwise, pick the juiciest, freshest strawberries possible. When you have so few ingredients, you want to use the very best!
Strawberries will have the most flavor when they are fragrant and fully reddened and have bright-green leaves. If you’re buying from a farmer or a U-pick farm, ask about their different strawberry varieties you can choose from. Albion is pretty common. These berries are big, uniformly shaped, brightly colored, sweet and juicy.
For these mini strawberry shortcake cups, you simply press the dough into a muffin tin. This little hack downsizes the cakes while cutting back on dough-making prep time. These mini shortcakes pack all the punch of the full-sized dessert but in a more manageable serving. This is a delightful recipe for parties, potlucks and any time you want to treat a berry-loving group.
Ingredients for Mini Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberries: You’ll need 1 quart (or about 1-1/2 pounds) of fresh strawberries for this recipe. Whether you get them the grocer, garden or U-pick patch, here’s how to pick strawberries for all your desserts.
- Flour, baking powder and salt: This is like the holy trinity of biscuit and shortcake baking.
- Cold butter: Fridge-cold butter is cut into the flour mixture to keep the shortcakes light and airy. As the cold butter melts in the oven, it creates steam and moisture that make the pastry tender and just a little crumbly.
- Whipped cream: When you’re going to the effort of making shortcake, it’s a small task with a big impact to make whipped cream from scratch. You need just a couple of ingredients and a few minutes with a hand mixer—you can even make whipped cream in a jar. Store-bought whipped cream will be firmer because most brands include a stabilizer like gelatin. Avoid whipped topping, which is usually quite stiff and high in sugar, unless you need a nondairy substitute.
Directions
Step 1: Macerate the strawberries
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mash or slice the strawberries, and place them in a large bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Set the bowl aside, letting the sugar draw out the berries’ juices.
Editor’s Tip: What is maceration? It’s when you add a few ingredients to help draw out the juices and add sweetness to the fruit. You can use vinegar, liqueur, wine, fruit juice or, as in this recipe, sugar to macerate strawberries and other fruit.
Step 2: Mix the dough
In another large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cut in the butter just until the mixture becomes crumbly. In a small bowl, beat the egg and milk. Gradually stir the liquid into the flour mixture until moistened.
Editor’s Tip: Many bakers use a pastry blender to cut in butter, but two knives or forks can achieve the same result—small chips of flour-coated butter. You can even use your fingertips, but that could warm the butter too much while you work it into the flour. To avoid the butter getting too warm in general, refrigerate the cubed butter, flour and bowl until cold.
Step 3: Bake the shortcake
Fill eight greased muffin cups two-thirds full with the shortcake dough. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Remove each shortcake from the pan to cool on a wire rack.
Step 4: Build the layers
Just before serving, split the shortcakes in half horizontally. Spoon the berries and whipped cream between the layers and over the top of each shortcake.
Recipe Variations
- Change the cake: Not a fan of shortcake? Replace it with halved scones, slices of pound cake or traditional sponge cake, or puff pastry. Add chocolate or lemon to the dough using one of our shortcake recipes for berry lovers (maybe you’ll even change your mind about shortcake). Skip the bread altogether with these strawberry-hazelnut meringue shortcakes.
- Swap the fruit: Instead of strawberries, spoon fresh blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries or a berry mix between the shortcake. Other fruit works well in shortcake, too. Try pineapple rumchata shortcakes or ginger-peach shortcake for an unexpected twist on the classic dessert.
- Make sandwiches: Instead of whipped cream, make a cream cheese filling to sandwich between the shortcake halves like you would for these cheesecake-stuffed strawberries. If you typically crave shortcake when strawberries are out of season, spread strawberry preserves over the cream cheese layer.
- Take it with you: For picnic-ready shortcakes, crumble large pieces of the shortcake into wide-mouth half-pint canning jars, then top them with the berries and whipped cream. Guests who don’t finish their serving can simply screw a lid on the jar and take the leftovers home to their refrigerator!
How to Store Mini Strawberry Shortcake
Keep the strawberries, shortcakes and whipped cream in separate containers, and assemble them just before serving. Learn how to store strawberries with our helpful guide.
Let the mini shortcake cups cool completely after baking. Pack them in an airtight container, and refrigerate them for up to five days or freeze them for up to three months. Let them return to room temperature before serving.
Save the whipped cream for last. Whip a small batch just for the shortcakes, then whip more when you need it again. If you still end up with leftover whipped cream, refrigerate it in an airtight container for a day or two. You can also make stabilized whipped cream that holds its shape for a few days by mixing in gelatin or a spoonful of dry milk powder.
Mini Strawberry Shortcake Tips
How to you clean strawberries for shortcake?
How to clean strawberries is simple, and it’s about the same process for all your strawberry desserts. Usually a quick rinse and gentle dry does the trick. Adding water or salt to the water can help if they show dirt or harbor bugs. Â If you want to prepare them in advance, toss them with the sugar and let them macerate in the refrigerator for up to two hours. Any longer will soften them until they resemble an ice cream topping.
What can I use instead of whipped cream?
Instead of whipped cream, lots of other creamy layers can be use in strawberry shortcake. Creme fraiche or yogurt adds tanginess to the dessert. Go a la mode by adding a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt.
