Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake is a great summer dessert using bright fresh berries. Light & sweet angel food cake is toasted and layered with whipped cream, which is a delicious twist on the typical strawberry shortcake recipe.

Angel Food Cake is one of my husband’s favorite recipes that his grandma would make every summer with fresh strawberries and whipped cream on top. 

I remember he was always loved when she made that cake. (That cake was delicious! For some reason this is one cake I have yet to perfect..it can be a bit tricky to make - I am still trying to get that one right!)

What do you do if you are like me and can't make a good sponge cake from scratch? I buy one at the local grocery store! It makes this easy dessert recipe even easier to make.  

Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients

To make this Angel Food Cake Strawberry Shortcake recipe, you will just need four ingredients…

• Store-Bought Angel Food Cake (Unless you prefer to make it yourself)
• Fresh Strawberries (And blueberries to make a Memorial Day or Fourth of July - Red, White, and Blue Shortcake.)
• Sugar
• Whipped Cream

I love to make this Strawberry Shortcake recipe over the summer using fresh strawberries. There is just something about freshly picked strawberries that is so summery and delicious.

How to Make It

The first step is to prepare the strawberries. They will need to sit in the fridge for at least two hours, so this will need to be done first.

How to Prepare the Strawberries:

Wash the strawberries & take off the stems. Pat them dry with a paper towel. Let them sit on a paper towel to fully dry.

Slice the strawberries in half and then into thin slices. While doing this, cut off the very top of the strawberries and discard them.

Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl with one tablespoon of granulated sugar. Mix together the berries and sugar, cover them, and place them in the refrigerator for two hours. 

By doing this, you bring out the sweetness of the strawberries, soften them up and also create a sweet strawberry syrup. It is best to do the strawberries ahead of time as they need to sit in the refrigerator with the sugar for two hours. 

How do you toast angel food cake?

This strawberry shortcake recipe has a great little twist on the angel food cake...it's toasted! By toasting it, the angel food cake has a little crisp to it.  It's something different and it is really easy to do.

Whether you have a cake from the store or have made your favorite angel food cake recipe, it is very simple to toast the angel food cake. (If you are in a rush to prepare a dessert to bring to a summer barbecue, you can skip the toasting, but it adds a fun twist to this recipe and it helps keep the cake from getting soggy.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.

Slice the angel food cake into small cubes. I use a good serrated knife to do the job of slicing the cake. Sponge cake is pretty soft and moist so you have to kind of saw at the cake instead of pushing down into it as you would with a regular cake. 

Tip: To easily slice the cake into cubes, press down slightly while using the serrated knife to cut side to side so the cake doesn't stick to the knife.

Once you have all of the cake sliced into cubes, place the cake pieces on your prepared baking sheet. Place them on the baking sheet in a single layer with a little bit of room between the pieces of cake.

Tip: Be sure to place the cubed cake pieces on the baking sheet in a single layer with a little bit of room between them. Doing this will ensure the cake pieces will toast evenly. It is best to do two batches or use two separate pans for the best results.  

Place them in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They are done when the cake pieces are golden brown.

Remove them from your oven and let them sit on the baking sheet to cool, about 30-40 minutes. Once they are cooled you can make the dessert.

The toasted angel food cake tastes best the day that you toast it.

Now, to make the whipped cream...

I just recently made my own homemade whipped cream. Oh my goodness, it was so good and so very easy to make! It literally took me five minutes to make.

However, if you don't want to make your own whipped cream, buy it at the store and you are all ready to go. Either way is fine for this recipe.

While homemade whipped cream is delicious and easy to make, I think Reddi Whip looks prettier with Strawberry Shortcake. For my photos in this post, I used Reddi Whip.

How do you make Homemade Whipped Cream?

If you are feeling ambitious and want to make your own whipped cream, this is the homemade whipped cream recipe I used when I made it recently.  Here are the three ingredients you will need:

• Cold Heavy Cream or Heavy Whipping Cream
• Sugar to Sweeten
• Vanilla Extract

How to Assemble the Strawberry Shortcake with Toasted Angel Food Cake:

Once you have all the cake pieces cooled and the berries ready, get out your clear glasses and prepare the dessert. (You can also use large mouth mason jars.)

Layer the Strawberry Shortcake by starting with some cake pieces on the bottom. In our glasses, I can fit 5-6 pieces in each layer of cake pieces. For this recipe, we use our 16-ounce stemless wine glasses.

Next, add some strawberries. About ¼ cup of strawberries for each layer of berries works well. 

Then add some whipped cream, either store-bought or homemade...your choice. A good dollop or two is good for each layer.

Repeat with another layer of each ingredient. Make sure you finish the layers with whipped cream so it has a pretty topping.

Tip: It is best to assemble the dessert just before serving. Serve it right away since the whipped cream will start to flop quickly. It does not take long to assemble the dessert since most of the work is done ahead of time.

This recipe is enough for four individual servings using 16 oz. glasses. If you want to make more, double the recipe or adjust accordingly to how many servings you need.

Want to make this a trifle for a larger crowd? This recipe is written for four individual servings. If you want to serve as a trifle, it will work. You will need to at least double or triple the recipe, depending on how many people you want to serve and the size of your serving dish. 

Serve it on the Fourth of July! This makes a great dessert for the Fourth of July. By adding both strawberries and blueberries, it is a festive and delicious recipe for your Fourth of July celebrations!

How to Prepare the Blueberries:

The blueberries just need to be washed with warm water and set aside on a paper towel to dry. You can also pat dry the blueberries with a paper towel.

Add them in with the strawberries as you assemble the dessert.

This recipe is perfect for summer parties, barbecues, or when you want to use up some fresh berries. This has become my daughter's favorite summer dessert!

Which is better? Homemade or store-bought whipped cream for this recipe? 

Let's talk about the pros of each...

Store-bought:

• Will give the dessert a prettier topping. 
• You just need to buy it...no prep work needed!

Homemade:

• It holds its shape better and for longer than store-bought whipped cream.
• It is thicker and creamier.
• While it is homemade, it only takes five minutes to prep.
• You know what is going into the whipped cream.

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe Tips:

• Prepare the strawberries ahead of time as the strawberries need two hours to sit in the sugar to bring out their sweetness.
• Make sure the cubed cake pieces are spread out on your baking sheet in a single layer so that they toast evenly. It is best to do two batches or at least use two baking sheets.
• Assemble the dessert just before you are ready to serve it. If it is made earlier, the whipped cream might flop on you. The angel food cake will also get soggy from the strawberries if it sits too long. Prep all the ingredients beforehand but assemble just before serving for best results.
• The recipe is made for four individual serving glasses. If you want to serve more than four people, increase the amount accordingly.
• Want to make this for a crowd? To make this for more people, it can also be made in a trifle bowl. You will need to double or triple the recipe, depending on the size of your bowl and the people you are serving.

Mason Jar Dessert

If you don't have stemless wine glasses, you can use wide-mouth mason jars to make angel food cake strawberry shortcakes. They are less likely to get broken and can fit more cake!

Love strawberries? Here are a few more recipes for you to make... Spinach and Strawberry Salad, Strawberry Kiwi Popsicles, or Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Pie.

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Did you make this recipe?  If so, I would love to hear what you thought by commenting and rating below.  Thanks and have a great day!

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Update Note: This recipe was originally posted in 2017, but was published again in 2019 to include step by step directions and new photos.