Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

Name: Vegan Strawberry Shortcakes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3 cups strawberries (quartered); 1/4 cup sugar; 4 cups plain or all purpose flour; 2 tbsp baking powder; 1/4 cup sugar (granulated or caster); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup vegan butter; 1 cup + 2 tbsp soy milk; 1 tsp lemon juice; 1 cup vegan whipping cream; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract

Jump to Recipe 1 Comments Pin Save

This vegan strawberry shortcake recipe will show you how to make this amazing summer dessert. The shortcake biscuits are easy to make, and taste wonderful filled with juicy strawberries and whipped vegan cream.

Two layers of golden baked biscuit are filled with juicy strawberries and whipped cream. The top biscuit is topped with more cream and a fresh strawberry.

Strawberry shortcake is a highlight of the strawberry season. There’s even a whole day dedicated to it in the United States - June 14th! Because the berries are not cooked, but simply soaked in sugar, this recipe is one of the loveliest ways to celebrate the fresh taste of strawberries.

When a blistering hot summer day requires a quick refreshing cooldown, we go for strawberry milkshakes. But when we are looking more for a substantial and slightly decadent summer dessert, these strawberry shortcakes are perfect!

Strawberry shortcake served with fresh strawberries.

Strawberry shortcake is sometimes made with sponge or Angel food cake, but here we use biscuits that's more like what's known as a scone in Britain. We only had to adapt our easy vegan scones recipe to make them a bit richer to match the indulgence of the strawberries and cream!

Shortcake dates back to the 16th century in Britain, when a recipe appeared in an Elizabethan cook book. Shakespeare even named one of his characters in The Merry Wives of Windsor, "Alice Shortcake".

But it wasn't until later in 19th century America that shortcake became famously served with strawberries and cream and it evolved into the iconic dessert we enjoy today! Now we are continuing the evolution of the recipe with this vegan version of strawberry shortcake - ready for a plant-based future!

The ingredients for vegan strawberry shortcake: Strawberries, white flour, sugar, baking powder, cubes of vegan butter, soy milk, vegan whipping cream, vanilla extract and a small piece of lemon.

Ingredient tips

For the shortcakes you'll need:

Flour - plain or all purpose
Sugar
Baking powder and a pinch of salt
Vegan butter, or non dairy margarine
Soy milk, but other non-dairy milks would work
and a teaspoon of lemon juice

And for the toppings:

Vegan whipping cream, with some added sugar and vanilla extract for extra flavour.
And strawberries, heavenly juicy once macerated with sugar.

Step by step

Here's a visual guide to help you make your own delicious strawberry shortcakes. You can find the detailed instructions below in the recipe card!

Quartered strawberries combined with granulated sugar in a glass bowl.

Step 1 - To macerate the quartered strawberries, mix them with sugar and let them steep for at least 30 minutes.

A whisk used to combine several dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Step 2 - Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

cubes of butter in a dry floury mix of ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Step 3 - Rub in the vegan butter using a fork or your hands, until no big lumps remain.

Soy milk is poured into a mixing bowl containing other ingredients already combined.

Step 4 - Add soy milk and lemon juice, and mix to form a loose, slightly sticky dough.

Round shapes cut from a rolled dough using a cookie cutter.

Step 5 - Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut out round shapes.

Round shapes of dough on a baking tray being brushed with a milky liquid.

Step 6 - Brush the top of the shortcakes with a mix of soy milk and maple syrup.

Nine golden brown baked biscuit cakes on a baking tray.

Step 7 - Bake for 12 minutes at 220℃.

Step 8 - Whip up the vegan cream, then add sugar and vanilla extract and whip again.

A whisk is dropping a dollop of whipped cream onto a bisuit topped with juicy red strawberries.

Step 9 - The best part... Assemble the strawberry shortcakes and enjoy!

Variations and substitutions

For the vegan whipping cream, we used Elmlea Plant Double. If you can’t buy a vegan cream suitable for whipping you can try making your own from chilled coconut cream or soaked cashews.

Shortcake isn’t just great with strawberries! Swap them out for other seasonal fruits such as blueberries, peach or raspberries and adjust the sugar to taste.

Serving

It’s totally up to you how you assemble your vegan strawberry shortcake! You can go for cream first and strawberries on top, or the other way round. Dig in with a fork and enjoy!

We often top and eat each half separately, in which case you can gleefully pick it up with your hands and take a big bite!

Storage

If you don’t plan on eating all the strawberry shortcakes right away it’s best to leave them unfilled.

They are best enjoyed fresh, but you can store the shortcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

To reheat the shortcakes before filling and eating, you can put them in the microwave for 10 - 20 seconds. You can also refresh a batch of them in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for 5 - 10 minutes.

Strawberries in a bowl after being macerated to become soft and juicy.

FAQs

What is macerating?

Macerate means to soften. In cooking, it is a technique typically used to soften fruit with no heat involved. A soaking liquid, or a sprinkle of sugar, is used to draw out the juice from the fruit.

Can I use frozen strawberries for shortcake?

Yes, frozen strawberries work well in this recipe. They won't be quite as firm as fresh strawberries, but they still taste delicious! Simply defrost your strawberries by leaving them in a bowl in the fridge overnight or gently in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time at low power.
Because the defrosted strawberries will already be quite juicy, you don't need to let them macerate for so long, just until the sugar is dissolved.

Can I freeze shortcakes?

The baked shortcakes can be frozen when they have completely cooled down. Wrap well and place in an airtight container to freeze.
To thaw the shortcakes, place them on a wire rack and defrost at room temperature for about 1 hour. You can refresh them in the microwave or oven, as mentioned above, before serving them with the strawberries and cream.

A golden baked biscuit filled with strawberries and whipped cream. The juice from the fruit is running down the side of the biscuit base.

We hope you enjoy your vegan strawberry shortcakes! Try these other fruity desserts...

Vegan Strawberry Tart

Summer Pudding

Vegan Redcurrant Meringue Tart