If you love strawberry shortcake, you’ll love the easy and delicious gluten-free strawberry shortcake I created for you. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill and contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Strawberry shortcake feels as American as apple pie, right?
In case you didn’t know, a shortcake is a sweet and crumbly biscuit or cake that has been leavened with baking powder or baking soda.
There are minimal liquid ingredients in a shortcake, just enough to hold the dough together, resulting in what is known as a shortened dough.
Most shortcake recipes are made with drop biscuits on a baking sheet, while other more stylized shortcakes are rolled and cut into evenly matched biscuit circles.
The cake is always baked at a high temperature until the dough sets.
Now that you know the basics behind the phenomenon known as shortbread, let’s make a gluten-free strawberry shortcake using my secret gluten-free flour blend, shall we?
Related Reading: 24 Amazing and Gluten-Free Strawberry Recipes
How to Make Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcake
The first step in making a strawberry shortcake from scratch is tending to the strawberries.
In a large bowl, mix together sliced strawberries, granulated sugar, and pure vanilla extract until combined.
Place the mixture in the refrigerator while you make and bake the biscuits. This will help release the juices from the strawberries.
Next, you’ll need to make the shortbread biscuits. My secret ingredient to making shortbread is using my trusty Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
This flour blend, which consists of a blend of flour, starches, and xanthan gum, is perfect and has helped me create delicious, 100 percent gluten-free recipes over the years. It’s truly the best invention since [gluten-free] sliced bread!
To make the biscuits, combine Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl, then add the cubed, cold butter.
Make sure your butter is very cold. I like to cube my butter and place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes until I’m ready to use it.
There are a few ways that you can cut the butter into the flour. If you have a pastry cutter, you can use that to cut the butter into the flour quickly.
Another way is to use your hands. All you have to do is rub the butter with your fingertips until it is the size of peas.
If you prefer, you can also use your food processor and pulse about 10-20 times until the butter is cut into the flour. Do this until the butter resembles coarse sand.
Next, you’ll need to gradually stir the buttermilk into the flour mixture until combined.
Tip! If you don’t have buttermilk, you can combine one cup of milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice and let it sit for five minutes before use.
Now you’re ready to create those delicious shortbread biscuits.
Dollop the biscuit mixture onto the prepared baking sheet into eight equal portions. Pile the dough high rather than wide to bake it tall and fluffy.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with a little buttermilk or melted butter and then sprinkle with coarse sugar (regular sugar is fine too).
Bake the biscuits at 425º F for 15-18 minutes until biscuits are lightly browned on the top and bottom.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for two minutes before removing and cooling them completely on a wire rack.
Make Whipped Cream Topping
While the shortbread biscuits cool, you can make your whipped cream topping.
To do this, combine heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. With an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat until stiff peaks form.
Alternatively, use store-bought whipped cream or Cool Whip. You can also find vegan whipped cream made from coconut milk in many grocery stores nationwide.
Assemble Those Shortcakes
Now for the FUN part – you get to assemble those beautiful, gluten-free strawberry shortcakes into mini stacks.
Cut each biscuit in half with a serrated knife, spoon strawberries onto one half of the biscuit, top with whipped cream, and then cover with the other half biscuit.
You can add an additional dollop of whipped cream and a small strawberry on top for decorative purposes too. I think it looks pretty if you do.
I think these gluten-free strawberry shortcakes look beautiful … I have to show you more pictures – all for your viewing pleasure, of course!
This gluten-free strawberry shortcake tastes incredible too. It’s a light, flaky and crumbly dough… and those strawberries, wow! They are sweet and juicy.
You will get lots of smiles when you serve up this delicious and totally summery dessert at your next BBQ.
All of this is possible thanks to Bob’s Red Mill … “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Right?
You can purchase Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend on Amazon or the Bob’s Red Mill website.
FAQs
I’d like to address some of the most frequently asked questions about making this gluten-free strawberry shortcake.
Can I Make it Dairy Free?
You can make this recipe dairy free with a few simple swaps. The good news is that Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour blend is dairy-free.
First, you’ll, of course, want to use dairy-free butter. I like to use the vegan butter by Country Crock or Earth Balance. Both make the perfect butter substitute.
Second, you’ll need to make a vegan buttermilk alternative. To make buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of dairy-free milk alternative and whisk together. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes, and voila, you have vegan buttermilk.
Third, you can use dairy-free heavy whipping cream (Country Crock makes a plant-based heavy whipping cream), or you can buy dairy-free whipped cream and call it a day. Redi-whip makes a coconut milk whipped cream that is phenomenal.
Can I Use Another Flour Blend?
Yes, you can, but the results may vary. This has only been tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend. I anticipate similar results with other flour blends. My favorite flour blend these days is Better Batter and Hand + Heart Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour. I have tried this recipe with both flours with great results!
This recipe will not work with rice flour, almond flour, or coconut flour. You must use a 1-to-1 or measure-for-measure, or cup-for-cup blend that includes xanthan gum.
Shortcut for Shortcake
If you don’t want to make your own whipped cream, you can buy store-bought whipped cream and use it instead. Easy swap, and no one has to know it’s only semi-homemade.
You can also skip the shortcake and make strawberry shortbread cookies instead!
More Strawberry Recipes from Good For You Gluten Free
Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
Strawberries:
- 1 pint strawberries sliced
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Biscuits:
- 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 tablespoons butter cold and cubed
- 1 cup buttermilk cold
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk or melted butter for brushing on top
- 1 teaspoon coarse sugar or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top
Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix the sliced strawberries, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator while you make the biscuits. This will help the juices release from the strawberries.
- To make the biscuits, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add cubed, cold butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with your hands until the butter resembles coarse sand. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to pulse the butter into the flour blend.
- Gradually, stir the buttermilk into the flour mixture until combined.
- Dollop the biscuit mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in 8 equal portions. You want the dollops to be piled high rather than wide.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with 1 tablespoon of buttermilk or melted butter. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly brown on the top and bottom. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Whipped Cream
- Combine the heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. With an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat until stiff peaks form.
- To assemble, cut each biscuit in half with a serrated knife. Spoon strawberries onto one half of the biscuit, top with whipped cream, and cover with the other half biscuit. You can add an additional dollop of whipped cream and a small strawberry on top for decorative purposes.
Notes
Nutrition
Great recipe for GF biscuits. The one thing I would change though next time is omit Vanilla from the Strawberries. It’s not getting cooked out, therefore it makes the Strawberries bitter because of the alcohol content.
This was excellent. Everyone loved it.
This was delicious!