Strawberry Shortcake For One
This single serving strawberry shortcake is made with a homemade drop biscuit, split and layered with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It bakes on a rimmed baking sheet and is sized for one person.
Servings: 1 serving
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cold salted butter
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ cup sliced strawberries
- whipped cream (homemade or store-bought)
- Optional: powdered sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the cold butter pieces and work them into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
- Pour in the milk and stir with a fork until the dough just comes together. It will look shaggy. If the dough is too dry, add milk ½ teaspoon at a time.
- Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and gently form it into a rough circle about ¾ inch thick.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the biscuit feels firm when you press the center lightly.
- Let the biscuit cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the biscuit to a wire rack and cool for 10 more minutes.
- While the biscuit cools, rinse, dry, and slice the strawberries. For extra juice, toss the slices with ¼ teaspoon of sugar and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Slice the cooled biscuit in half horizontally with a serrated knife.
- Place the bottom half on a plate and spoon the strawberries over it.
- Add whipped cream on top of the strawberries and place the top half of the biscuit over the cream. Add more strawberries and whipped cream on top if you like. Serve right away.
Video
Notes
Use cold butter. Take the butter straight from the fridge and cut it into small pieces right before mixing. If your kitchen is warm, put the cut pieces back in the fridge for a few minutes. Warm butter blends into the flour instead of creating the steam pockets that give the biscuit its flaky texture.
Measure flour with the spoon-and-level method. Spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Scooping directly from the bag packs in extra flour and makes the biscuit dry and dense.
Stop mixing when the dough looks shaggy. Stir with a fork just until the flour is incorporated. Overmixed biscuit dough develops too much gluten, which makes the biscuit tough and chewy instead of tender.
Use a rimmed baking sheet. The biscuit spreads slightly as it bakes. A rimmed sheet keeps it contained and promotes even heat distribution on the bottom.
Check your leaveners. Baking powder and baking soda lose strength over time. A flat biscuit usually means one or both have gone stale. Test baking powder by dropping ¼ teaspoon into ½ cup of hot water (it should bubble). For baking soda, mix ¼ teaspoon of vinegar into ½ cup of hot water, then add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda (it should fizz).
Let the biscuit cool before slicing. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for 10 more minutes. A hot biscuit will crumble when you try to cut it in half.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 617kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 834mg | Potassium: 179mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 765IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 3mg
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