The buttermilk biscuit recipe on the bag of the Gold Medal flour bag is pretty good, but last night I wanted to make strawberry shortcake, found I was out of buttermilk, and made the biscuits with sour cream. The biscuits were so light and tender and had such a good flavor that I’d definitely make them this way again – especially for shortcake because the sour cream flavor meshed well with the strawberries.
The biscuit recipe was easy and required only one bowl microwave-safe mixing bowl. You melt the butter right in the bowl, let it cool to room temperature, then stir in the ingredients in the order given. If you work biscuit dough too much it gets tough, so I just squished it together in the bowl, turned it onto a clean surface, and made as many cuts as I could without re-gathering the dough.
The dough seemed a little on the dry side and I didn’t need to add any flour to the cutting surface, but the biscuits tasted perfect. Since I was using them for shortcake, I didn’t bother brushing the tops with butter. Not that it would have hurt anything.
So biscuits plus strawberries meant dessert — Strawberry Shortcake!
Here’s a basic method for making strawberry shortcake with biscuits. That is, unless you prefer those little round spongecake bowls they sell in the produce section.
- 1 pound strawberries, trimmed of stems and sliced
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1/3 cup whole milk, plus a little more if needed, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 1/4 cups self rising flour (fluff up and spoon, don’t pack)
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- Toss berries with sugar, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or until you are ready to make the cakes.
- Prepare Biscuits (Makes 6)
- Mix the cool melted butter, sour cream, milk and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the flour and stir just until it’s barely mixed in – if batter seems too sticky, add the rest of the flour. I used all of it and my dough was dry, but the biscuits were still good. Squish mixture with your hands until it comes together, but don’t overwork it. Dump onto a cutting board or flat surface and shape into a plank about 3/4 inch thick. Using the top of a glass or biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 12-16 minutes or until biscuits seem done. Let cool.
- Whipped Cream
- In a chilled mixing bowl using chilled beaters, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar and vanilla and beat until peaks are stiff
- Assemble! Slice the biscuit, rub a little whipped cream on the cut side, spoon strawberries over whipped cream, top with more whipped cream and more strawberries or top with the other half of the biscuits. I gave everyone half a biscuit and that was fine. The rest of the biscuits went in the freezer.
LilSis says
April 23, 2010 at 9:58 amOh my goodness! Those biscuits look like they would melt in your mouth.
Katherine says
April 21, 2010 at 1:47 pmCan you share the recipe for how you make self rising flour? These sound great but I only have regular flour (actually I have cake, bleached, and unbleached – not to mention the whole wheat varities. No room for one more bag of flour!
Anna says
April 20, 2010 at 6:32 pmRam, I bought a bag a few weeks ago and have been using store-bought. I know how to make it myself, but I read somewhere that the kind you buy in stores is made with a softer wheat.
Ram says
April 20, 2010 at 6:19 pmI like Strawberry Shortcake but I’ve never made it myself. Did you use store bought Self Rising Flour or did you make your own. If so, do you have the recipe for making self rising flour?
Sue says
April 20, 2010 at 12:52 pmStrawberry shortcake makes me think of summer! Yum!
I like this recipe because it seems like I often end up with leftover sour cream. This is a great way to use it!
Julie says
April 20, 2010 at 10:36 amBiscuits may be one of my favorite things in life. Strangely, the best strawberry shortcake biscuits I’ve ever had were at my college dining hall. I almost always have buttermilk, so I’ve never made them with sour cream…must try it. This recipe is interesting because of the melted butter.
Kristen says
April 20, 2010 at 10:16 amI love the cutter, too! I know I have had that glass:)
Katrina says
April 20, 2010 at 8:50 amLove your biscuit “cutter”. Those look like they rose up nicely!