A Google search of "strawberry shortcake" returns more than 10 million results—but we're about to tell you why ours is the only one that matters. After weeks of testing, senior food editor Chris Morocco created what we consider the quintessential strawberry shortcake, with a perfectly tender cake, pillows of softly whipped cream, and double the strawberry flavor thanks to a combination of cooked and raw berries. Here’s how it’s done.
How do you make great berries taste even better? Double down! Leave half raw for big berry flavor, and cook the other half to a lush compote. When reunited, they meld into a fresh-tasting überberry.
Your foundation is everything. Sponge cakes turn to mush, while flaky biscuits lack the crumb to stand up to juicy fruit. We found the sweet spot, achieving ultra-tenderness via a surprising trick: hard-cooked egg yolks in the batter that stall gluten development.
Using an ice cream scoop to shape the dough makes for a compact, mounded dome, allowing the cakes to open upward as they bake instead of flattening out. A brief pre-oven chill amps up this effect.
It should be barely sweetened and whipped until soft and pillowy—just stiff enough to support the weight of the top shortcake without spilling over the sides.
Garnishes like mint leaves only complicate things. You want a split shortcake, a layer of berries, and a crown of whipped cream. Done.