There is nothing better than homemade strawberry shortcake in the summer! This balsamic roasted strawberry shortcake with fresh basil is my take on the southern classic. Roasting the strawberries with balsamic vinegar brings out their sweetness and adds a rich, tangy depth of flavor.
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What is Strawberry Shortcake?
A shortcake is a classic dessert with a crumbly biscuit like pastry, sandwiched with whipped cream and fruit!
This roasted strawberry shortcake has a roasted jammy strawberry balsamic filling. It's sweet and tangy and perfect for spring!
The best thing about roasting strawberries, is that it's a good way to use up berries that are a bit past their prime.
For the shortcakes I like to make biscuits that are like a cross between a biscuit and a scone. They're softer and sweeter than biscuits but still perfectly light and flaky!
You might also like this roasted peach shortcake or this strawberry rhubarb shortcake!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make this roasted strawberry shortcake!
Strawberries - You want to use fresh strawberries for this recipe for the best flavor! Since we're roasting the strawberries, I really don't recommend using frozen strawberries because they'll release too much water. Just be sure to wash and hull the strawberries before cutting up for the filling.
Balsamic Vinegar - If you want less tangy strawberries, simply reduce the amount of balsamic by half.
Basil - This is optional but the addition of sweet basil with the strawberries and balsamic is just delicious!!
Pastry Flour - I always use pastry flour or cake flour when making biscuits so that they have a super light, tender texture. However, all purpose flour will work great if that's all you have!
Butter - I like using frozen grated butter for the flakiest biscuits.
Egg - Adding egg to the dough is what makes these shortcake biscuits more similar to scones. It helps give them that softer, fluffier texture.
Heavy Cream - Instead of cream you can substitute buttermilk if you have it on hand!
Whipped Cream - I use my basic homemade whipped cream recipe for this strawberry shortcake because it's not too sweet and mellows out the tart berries.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Tips for Flaky Pastries
Use cold ingredients! For most baked goods you want to use room temperature ingredients, but for flaky pastries (like scones, biscuits, or pie crust) the ingredients need to be very cold! Keep any butter, eggs, milk, etc. in the fridge until right before you need to use them!
Chill before baking! Chilling the dough for at least 15-20 minutes before baking helps ensure the butter in the dough is nice and cold and helps the pastries hold their shape. Cold dough + hot oven = perfect flaky pastry!
Don't overwork the dough! You want to mix the ingredients until just combined so that there are still distinct pieces of butter in the dough. This is what gives you those buttery, flaky, air pockets!
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping certain baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature. Some ovens also take longer than the standard "preheat" time to actually come up to the proper temperature.
How to Make Roasted Strawberries
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Wash and hull the strawberries and cut in quarters. Then add to a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and balsamic vinegar and toss to coat.
Roast for 20-25 minutes or until the strawberries have softened and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Shortcake Biscuits
Place the butter in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before grating. Use a box grater to carefully grate the butter into small pieces. Keep the grated butter in the freezer until you're ready to use it. [If you don't want to use grated butter, just cut the butter into small chunks and keep chilled until ready to use.]
In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract then set aside.
In a medium bowl, add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk together.
Add in the frozen grated butter and mix in until it's fully coated in the flour.
Then slowly drizzle the wet ingredients over top, combing as you go. Continue mixing until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky. If too dry, add in more cream 1 tablespoon at a time.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently press into a large disc about 1 inch thick. Cut into 4-5 even 2 ½ inch circles, then reshape the remaining dough and cut out 1-2 more. You should be able to get 6 biscuits.
Place the biscuits a few inches apart on the lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for at least 20-30 minutes before baking to firm up.
While the biscuits are chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Lightly brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar if desired.
Bake at 400°F for 18-24 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Assemble Strawberry Shortcake
I love my strawberry shortcake with warm biscuits and warm strawberries so the whipped cream gets all melty and delicious. But you can also wait for everything to fully cool!
Simply slice the biscuits in half and layer with balsamic roasted strawberries, whipped cream, and sliced fresh basil.
Once assembled, the shortcake is best when eaten immediately. However, you can store the biscuits at room temperature, and the strawberry balsamic compote and whipped cream in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Balsamic Roasted Strawberry Shortcake
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Balsamic Roasted Strawberries
- 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Biscuits
- ½ cup unsalted butter, frozen
- ½ cup heavy cream, cold
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups pastry flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Balsamic Roasted Strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Wash and hull the strawberries and cut in quarters. Then add to a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and balsamic vinegar and toss to coat.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes or until the strawberries have softened and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
Biscuits
- Place the butter in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before grating. Use a box grater to carefully grate the butter into small pieces. Keep the grated butter in the freezer until you're ready to use it. [If you don't want to use grated butter, just cut the butter into small chunks and keep chilled until ready to use.]
- In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract then set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk together.
- Add in the frozen grated butter and mix in until it's fully coated in the flour.
- Then slowly drizzle the wet ingredients over top, combing as you go. Continue mixing until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky. If too dry, add in more cream 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently press into a large disc about 1 inch thick. Cut into 4-5 even 2 ½ inch circles, then reshape the remaining dough and cut out 1-2 more. You should be able to get 6 biscuits.
- Place the biscuits a few inches apart on the lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for at least 20-30 minutes before baking to firm up.
- While the biscuits are chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Lightly brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar if desired.
- Bake at 400°F for 18-24 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Whipped Cream
- While the biscuits and strawberries are cooling, make the whipped cream.
- Add the cold heavy cream to a large bowl with the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste. Beat on high with a hand mixer until thickened and medium peaks form.
- Simply slice the biscuits in half and layer with roasted strawberries, whipped cream, and sliced fresh basil.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Erin Gierhart says
Balsamic and strawberries are a winning combination! I love this fun take on shortcake!