Hurray for strawberry season! Try this easy recipe for No-Bake Strawberry Shortcakes that are filled with beautiful, ruby-red juicy berries and topped with strawberry whipped cream for a perfect summertime dessert.
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Want to know how to make a delicious dessert without using the oven? Try these Easy Strawberry Shortcake Cups made with everyone’s favorite berry. It’s a twist on an old-fashioned recipe because mixing things up is always fun, and this recipe turns the classic strawberry shortcake into a no-bake dessert.
Yes, that’s right, no oven is required, and you still can have a luscious dessert on a hot day. No-bake dessert recipes are great anytime but are a summer must-have. These shortcake cups are light, luscious, and so easy to make. You are going to love them!
Best Summer Dessert Recipe
Whether you buy your berries from the store, farmer’s market, or maybe a u-pick your own stand, this dessert comes together in no time with store-bought pound cake and a sweet strawberry sauce, all topped with a luscious dollop of strawberry-flavored whipped cream. Fresh strawberries are just the best fruit ever. Consider adding Strawberry Jam Tart or strawberry jam to the shortcakes!
Now if you want to bake a homemade Strawberry Cake, give this recipe a try. You can leave this cake in the pan and frost it, make cupcakes or a big layer cake. No matter what, this easy summer cake is always delicious.
You can use fresh or frozen strawberries to make these fluffy Strawberry Shortcake Cookies.
🍓Shortcake Ingredients
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake
- You want to make the strawberry sauce first so it has time to cool. Wash and hull the strawberries, then slice them to make three cups.
- Put two cups of the sliced strawberries in a medium-sized saucepan along with the sugar, cornstarch, lime zest, and nutmeg. The remaining strawberries will be used later.
- Use a potato masher to mash the berries and combine the ingredients.
- Cook the strawberries over medium heat, then simmer the sauce until it thickens, about five minutes.
- When the sauce is done cooking, pour it into a small bowl and place it in the refrigerator to cool while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
6. Cut the pound cake into small bite-sized cubes.
7. Pour the heavy cream into a medium-sized bowl, and using a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
8. Next, add two tablespoons of chilled strawberry sauce to the whipped cream, beat again to incorporate, and whip until the cream is thick.
Homemade whipped cream is always so tasty, but if you don’t want to make your own, dollops of Cool Whip whipped topping will be just as good.
How to assembly the shortcakes
There are so many ways to serve this shortcake. I like to use my wine glasses, but Mason jars also work.
9. Start layering the strawberry puree in the bottom of the cups; add the cake cubes, I used five, then a layer of the remaining strawberries, then a dollop of the whipped cream. Repeat this twice and top with additional zested lime.
Shortcake Serving Tip
These shortcakes are perfect for all types of parties, and kids love them for their birthdays. Make this dessert in clear plastic cups so you can still see the pretty layers of the cake and berries and no glass to break.
This easy dessert recipe can be made ahead of time and is also easy to transport. Make the shortcake in plastic cups with lids to pack them up and take them to your picnic or a summer potluck.
Another favorite no-bake dessert that my friend makes is these Easy Mini Tiramisu desserts. Another party-perfect treat.
This is seriously one of the easiest desserts to make. It looks elegant with those beautiful berries topped with strawberry whipped cream and tastes sweet and fresh.
Desserts to Make with Strawberries
- Strawberry Curd Tarts are filled with sweet cream strawberry curd and topped with just a hint of whipped cream.
- This 3-Ingredient Strawberry Jam technically is not a dessert, but when I slather this fruity spread on top of my morning bagel, it tastes like a dessert to me.
- Strawberry Chardonnay Gelee is a classic homemade gelatin dessert with the most wonderful velvety texture and deliciously fresh strawberry flavor with a hint of fruity wine. Move over grandma’s jello and say hello to Gelees.
- Strawberry Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are a fun way to serve dessert when you are cooking out. No one expects to have such a wonderful dessert come off the grill.
- Have you heard of freeze-dried strawberries? They pack a lot of flavor and that is what we use to make our favorite Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats.
- Frozen Strawberry & Raspberry Cheesecake Mousse. This is another super quick dessert to make, and don’t be surprised how fast it disappears.
Other Fruits to Use for Shortcake
- Peaches: Use fresh, ripe peaches for a juicy and fragrant shortcake variation.
- Raspberries: Swap strawberries for raspberries to create a tart and sweet dessert.
- Blueberries: Create a shortcake with fresh or cooked blueberries for a burst of flavor.
- Blackberries: Use plump blackberries for a rich, dark twist on the classic shortcake.
- Mixed Berries: Combine strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for a colorful and flavorful berry shortcake.
- Cherries: Use fresh or canned cherries to make a cherry shortcake with a vibrant red color.
- Mango: Create a tropical twist on shortcake with sweet, juicy mango slices.
- Pineapple: Layer pineapple chunks with shortcake and whipped cream for a refreshing, fruity dessert.
- Bananas: Use sliced bananas for a creamy, comforting banana shortcake.
FAQs for Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberries love warm days and cool nights, so you can get extra sweet berries from April to September in many places. June, when the weather is just right, is the peak season.
Yes, it can be made an hour or two ahead of serving. If made too far ahead the poundcake will get soggy and the whipped cream could start breaking down.
How to Keep Strawberries Fresh
Check out the One Hot Oven post on How to Keep Strawberries Fresh. This trick will keep your strawberries fresh for over a week.
How to Serve Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
These pretty as-can-be dessert cups are perfect for serving on any day, but if you can find strawberries in May, this would be a perfect dessert to serve for Mother’s Day. Don’t forget Dad likes pretty-as-can-be desserts too. He just won’t tell you that!
Have a dinner party or special occasion coming up, serve these shortcakes for dessert time, everyone will think you spent hours making this treat, but honestly, this is the easiest strawberry shortcake recipe.
Making these shortcakes with beautiful fresh red strawberries is always a welcome treat for Memorial Day and the 4th of July.
More Delicious Dessert Options
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No-Bake Strawberry Shortcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
No-Bake Strawberry Shortcakes
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tsp. lime zest use extra for garnish
- pinch nutmeg
- 3 cups strawberries – sliced save 1 cup of sliced berries
- 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
- 16 ounces Pound Cake I used a thawed Sara Lee frozen poundcake
Instructions
Strawberry Sauce
- Combine the sugar, cornstarch, lime zest and nutmeg in a small saucepan, stir to combine
- Add 2 cups of the sliced strawberries to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher.
- Bring the strawberries to a simmer over medium heat; stir until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool.
Preparing the pound cake
- If using a frozen pound cake make sure it has been thawed. Cut the pound cake into thick slices and cut the slices into bite-size cubes. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.
Making the Strawberry Whipped Cream
- Pour the whipping cream into a small bowl and beat on low for a minute until the cream starts to thicken. If you immedately beat the cream on high speed the cream will possibly splatter. Once the cream starts to thicken raise the speed to medium high and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the cooled strawberry sauce to the whipped cream and whip to combine. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Dishing up the Strawberry Shortcakes
- Select four small cups or dessert dishes.
- Put 1 – 2 tablespoons of the cooled strawberry sauce in the bottom of the cup/bowl
- Alternately add the reserved sliced strawberries and cake pieces
- Top with 1 – 2 tbls of cooled strawberry sauce.
- Top your dessert with a large dollop of strawberry whipped cream and sprinkle on extra lime zest.
- Keep this dessert refrigerated until ready to eat.
Notes
Try other fruits in place of strawberries
- Apricots
- Peaches
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
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Nutrition
First Published: Aug 2, 2022. Last Updated: August 19, 2022, for better readability.
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About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
I love strawberry shortcake, but had never tried making it this way until I saw your recipe! Loved your easy tips and serving them in the cups was such a special touch. Definitely making this for the family again soon. Thanks!
These are so cute and a great way to use up the strawberries of the season!
I brought these to a picnic and they were a huge hit! And so easy to make.
Thanks for the recipe!