A vegan strawberry shortcake is the perfect summer treat. A delicious biscuit-like cake layered with fresh sweet strawberries and vegan whipped cream. This cake is not only gorgeous to serve but so tasty!
Strawberry shortcake has always been one of my favorite summer desserts. I love all strawberry desserts. Check out these Vegan Strawberry Hand Pies, this decadent Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Cake, or this Fresh Strawberry Lemonade.
Long before my vegan days, my sister and I would go to this fast-food restaurant called Burgerville. It's strawberry season in June, so they would start their strawberry shortcakes. They had this delicious biscuit-style shortcake with ice cream, whipped cream, and the best Oregon-grown strawberries.
They would take a fresh strawberry milkshake, add a whole biscuit, and blend. It was the BEST thing. That's where my love for shortcakes started.
The top three most common short cake bases are; the spongey one from the grocery store, pound cake, or the biscuit type. I am definitely in the biscuit type, but I would never turn down a vegan pound cake.
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Why this recipe works
- It's an easy recipe.
- It's a perfect texture to soak up some strawberry juice but not become overly soggy.
- It makes a beautiful cake.
- It's the perfect vegan summer strawberry dessert
- It can be made as a cake or individual shortcakes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- All purpose flour- All-purpose flour is the best for this recipe. If you are gluten-free, you can use all-purpose gluten-free flour. If you would rather use white whole wheat flour, pay attention to the liquid amount; you might need more.
- White sugar or cane sugar- this goes great with the berries and to make a nice sugar crust on the top of the cake.
- Brown Sugar- I like this in the biscuit cake to help with the texture and flavor. If you're out of brown sugar, feel free to use all white sugar.
- Vegan Butter- I know not everyone wants to use vegan butter, and that's okay. I have never personally tried it, but I think it would work just fine. Just make sure your coconut oil is cold to cut it like vegan butter.
- Vegan buttermilk- your favorite non-dairy milk, almond milk, or soy milk, the thicker usually, the better mixed with 1 TB Vinegar; let this sit, and it will make vegan buttermilk.
- Vanilla extract- gives the perfect hint of vanilla to the biscuit cake.
- Almond Extract- you can sub this out for vanilla extract, but I really like the subtle almond flavor it gives.
- Strawberries- fresh strawberries work best for this recipe because frozen ones tend to get too runny. If you want to use frozen, I would serve these as individual strawberry shortcakes and give a scoop of the berries when serving.
- Vegan Whipping Cream- So Delicious Coco Whip is the best vegan whipping cream that you can buy. I have served it to many non-vegan people, and they love it. If you can't find it, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and many big grocery stores will have some version of vegan whip cream. You can also make your own with coconut milk, but that's never been my favorite.
Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient and quantity information.
How to make Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
Step 1- Preheat your oven to 400F and grease a cake pan with cooking spray and sprinkle with flour and set it aside.
Step 2- You're going to start with making your biscuit cake. You make this just like you would biscuits. Make up your vegan buttermilk first. If you have never done this, it's super easy. Take your liquid measuring cup, add 1 TB of white vinegar, fill it up to the 1 cup line, and let it sit while you work with the other ingredients.
Step 3- Take a medium to large bowl and mix your dry ingredients with a whisk until combined well.
Step 4- Then get your cold vegan butter out. I like to cut my vegan butter into small pieces, throw it into the flour mixture, and use a pastry cutter to distribute it evenly.
Step 5- Once your butter is mixed, you can add your extracts to the vegan buttermilk and then add it to your flour/butter mixture.
Step 6- I use a wooden spoon and mix this until it's just combined. It will look a little messy.
Step 7- Take your prepared 9-inch cake pan and put your dough in it. This is a thick dough; think biscuits. And spread it out evenly. Then sprinkle some sugar evenly on top before baking. This will make a nice little sugar crust when it's cooked. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the middle clean. Place the pan on a cooling rack.
Step 8- While this biscuit cake is cooking, you want to start on your fresh strawberries. Cut them into your desired shape and sizes and put them in a small bowl. Add as much or as little sugar as they need; this will depend on the ripeness of the berries. I like to add a tiny touch of almond extract to the berries + sugar combo to give it a little extra flavor.
Step 9- Let this cool completely before assembling the strawberry shortcake.
Assembling
Step 1- When it comes to assembling this vegan strawberry shortcake, you can carefully cut it in half.
Step 2- Then add a layer of strawberries and whip cream, put the top layer on, and do the same on the top.
Step 3- When I serve this, I do it with an extra scoop of strawberries + juices to saturate the flavor. We also love to add some vegan vanilla ice cream.
If you would prefer to make these into individual strawberry shortcakes, follow these directions;
- Prep your work surface by placing a Silpat or parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkling with a tablespoon of flour.
- Then take your biscuit dough, it will be a shaggy dough, and that's okay. You can either take a rolling pin or your hands and lightly roll the dough to about ¾ inch thick, get out a ruler if you need to.
- Now get your biscuit cutter and cut your biscuits into a biscuit shape.
- Place biscuits on a lined baking sheet. Take some white sugar and sprinkle it on the tops of the biscuits. Bake in the oven for
- 9-12 minutes. Don't overbake these shortcakes.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Make sure the vegan butter is cold so that this cake stays more like a biscuit than a cake.
- Sugar your strawberries accordingly. This shortcake biscuits cake isn't overly sweet because I wanted the sweetness to come from the juicy strawberries.
- Give this time to rest before serving for the best results. It tastes best when it's had time to let the strawberry juice and vegan whipping cream soak in a bit.
- Serve with extra vegan whipped topping.
- Don't overbake your cake.
- When you're spreading the biscuit dough, it will be thick- it's best to get your hands a little damp and spread the dough that way.
Recipe FAQS
Because of the whipped cream, you want to store this in the fridge in either an airtight container or with plastic wrap. This is best to eat within a few days for the best flavor.
It's best to freeze the cake without the strawberries and whipped cream. Freeze it in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let defrost and then add your strawberries and vegan whipped cream.
Strawberry shortcake is a delicious dessert that's made with a biscuit-like cake, or scone layered with strawberries and whip cream.
Yes, if you prefer, you can make these into single-serve shortcakes. I'll explain this in the recipe.
Here are some vegan summer dessert recipes...
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Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 TB white sugar
- 2 TB brown sugar
- 1 TB baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup Vegan Butter cold
- 1 cup Vegan buttermilk 1 TB vinegar to plant milk
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 TB white sugar for sprinkling on top
- 1-2 pounds strawberries *depending on how many you like
- sugar for the strawberries
- 1 container So Delicious Cool whip
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9 inch cake pan and set aside.
- Make your vegan buttermilk by taking an empty liquid measuring cup, adding 1 TB white vinegar, fill it the rest of the 1 cup with plant milk of your choice, stirring, set aside.
- Get a medium mixing bowl and put all your dry ingredients, and whisk.
- Take your cold vegan butter and cut it into small pieces, then add it to the flour and cut in with a pastry cutter until it's course crumbs and evenly distributed.
- Add your extracts to the vegan buttermilk, and then pour the buttermilk/extracts into the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated, don't over- stir. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out, it will be fairly thick.
- Sprinkle 3 TB of white sugar evenly over the top and cook in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the cake is cooking, get your strawberries ready. Get a medium bowl and cut them into the desired size and add your desired sugar amount depending on how sweet your berries are and stir then set aside.
- When assembling the cake, cut the cake in half carefully. Take half your So delicious whipped topping and spread it in the middle layer, then layer with strawberries. Put the top half on and then do the same on the top of the cake. Put the cake in the fridge until ready to serve. You can serve it with more strawberries and whipped cream if desired.
Individual Shortcakes
- Prep your work surface by placing a Silpat or parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkling with a tablespoon of flour. Then take your biscuit dough, it will be a shaggy dough, and that's okay. You can either take a rolling pin or your hands and lightly roll the dough to about ¾ inch thick, get out a ruler if you need to. Now get your biscuit cutter and cut your biscuits into a biscuit shape. Place biscuits on a lined baking sheet. Take some white sugar and sprinkle it on the tops of the biscuits. Bake in the oven for 9-12 minutes. Don't overbake these shortcakes.
Notes
- Gluten-free- use All Purpose Gluten Free flour in a 1:1 ratio
- If you're out of vegan butter, you can try using cold coconut oil.
- Fresh strawberries are better than frozen ones unless you're serving these individually.
- If you don't have almond extract just use more vanilla extract.
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- Make sure the vegan butter is cold so that this cake stays more like a biscuit than a cake.
- Sugar your strawberries accordingly. This shortcake biscuits cake isn't overly sweet because I wanted the sweetness to come from the juicy strawberries.
- Give this time to rest before serving for the best results. It tastes best when it's had time to let the strawberry juice and vegan whipping cream soak in a bit.
- Serve with extra vegan whipped topping.
- Don't overbake your cake.
- When you're spreading the biscuit dough, it will be thick- it's best to get your hands a little damp and spread the dough that way.
Laura says
I'm not vegan, but I have a dear friend who's daughter is vegan, and now she is as well. I've cooked many meals for them over the years,but it's been challenging to adapt some favorite recipes to a completely vegan format, especially desserts. Strawberry shortcake was always a favorite, so I gave this a try. It's absolutely perfect. I used oatmilk with lemon juice ( no vinegar) and omitted the almond extract (nut allergy). The taste was as good as any traditional shortcake I've made, although the texture was softer, more cake than biscuit. Served with fresh fruit it was a perfect July 4th dessert.