This sourdough strawberry shortcake recipe is based on my grandma’s traditional Indiana Hoosier-style strawberry shortcake recipe, which is more similar to a pound cake than a biscuit. The result is a fluffy, moist, and buttery sourdough shortcake that you can pile high with syrupy strawberries, whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.
Why This Recipe Works
To develop this recipe, I simply reduced some of the milk and flour in my grandma’s traditional recipe and replaced it with sourdough starter. Since the sourdough starter is already half liquid and half flour, it mixes into the cake batter perfectly without affecting the texture. Plus, the starter provides a slight tang that you don’t get in a traditional strawberry shortcake, and it’s a great way to use up any leftover sourdough starter or discard that you might have on hand.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries will work best for making a sweet, syrupy strawberry topping to go on top of your strawberry shortcake.
- White Sugar: You’ll need plain white sugar for the shortcake and also to sweeten the strawberries.
- All-Purpose Flour: I used the King Arthur brand of all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can use any plain white all-purpose flour that contains around 10-12% protein.
- Butter, melted: You’ll need one US stick (A.K.A. 1/2 cup or 113 grams) of salted butter for this recipe.
- Eggs: You’ll need one medium-sized egg.
- Sourdough Starter: You’ll need a 100% hydration sourdough starter for this recipe. You can use risen and active sourdough starter or leftover sourdough starter “discard” that has risen and fallen back down again. Discard will generally provide more of a sour and complex flavor, so use discard if you have it.
- Baking Powder: You’ll need a small amount of baking powder (not baking soda) to make the sourdough shortcake rise.
- Salt: I used Kosher salt for this recipe, but sea salt or plain table salt will also work well.
Note: See recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.
Ingredient Amounts
Strawberry Topping
- Strawberries, fresh – 1 lb. (453 grams)
- White Sugar – 2 Tbsp (24 grams)
Sourdough Shortcake
- All-Purpose Flour – 1 1/2 cups (180 grams)
- Baking Powder – 2 tsp (8 grams)
- Salt – 1/4 tsp (1 gram)
- Butter, melted – 1/2 cup (113 grams)
- Whole Milk – 3/4 cup (180 grams)
- White Sugar – 1 cup (200 grams)
- Eggs – 1 medium (50 grams)
- Sourdough Starter (or Discard) – 1/3 cup (100 grams)
How to Make Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preparing the Strawberry Topping
Slice one pound of strawberries into thin slices with the green tops removed. In a glass bowl, mix the sliced strawberries with two tablespoons of white sugar and stir to combine. Cover the strawberries with a lid and allow them to chill in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes, but ideally between 4-24 hours. Over time, the sugar will draw out the juices from the strawberries and make a sweet, strawberry syrup.
Mixing the Wet Ingredients
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Then, in a mixing bowl, add the milk, white sugar, egg, sourdough starter/discard, and the melted butter. Whisk thoroughly to beat the egg and fully combine the wet ingredients.
Note: Previously, and in the video, I mixed the melted butter with the dry ingredients. After further testing, I now prefer to mix the melted butter in with the wet ingredients instead of with the flour. This makes the cake batter come together more easily, requires less whisking, and is more similar to my grandmother’s method.
Mixing the Dry Ingredients
In a separate mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, the baking powder, and the salt. Stir to combine. Then, pour the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients and mix together with a spatula until a smooth batter is formed.
Baking the Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake
Pour the batter into a buttered, 8×8″ square glass baking pan and bake the sourdough shortcake for 35 minutes at 350°F (180°C). When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, the cake is finished baking.
Serving
Allow the sourdough shortcake to cool for 10-20 minutes before slicing into squares. Serve squares of shortcake topped with heaping spoonfuls of the strawberry topping and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake (Indiana Hoosier-Style)
This sourdough strawberry shortcake recipe is based on my grandma's traditional Indiana Hoosier-style strawberry shortcake recipe, which is more similar to a pound cake than a biscuit. The result is a fluffy, moist, and buttery sourdough shortcake that you can pile high with syrupy strawberries, whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
Strawberry Topping
- Strawberries, fresh - 1 lb. (453 grams)
- White Sugar - 2 Tbsp (24 grams)
Sourdough Shortcake
- All-Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cups (180 grams)
- Baking Powder - 2 tsp (8 grams)
- Salt - 1/4 tsp (1 gram)
- Whole Milk - 3/4 cup (180 grams)
- White Sugar - 1 cup (200 grams)
- Eggs - 1 medium (50 grams)
- Sourdough Starter (or Discard) - 1/3 cup (100 grams)
Instructions
Preparing the Strawberry Topping
Slice one pound of strawberries into thin slices with the green tops removed. In a glass bowl, mix the sliced strawberries with two tablespoons of white sugar and stir to combine. Cover the strawberries with a lid and allow them to chill in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes, but ideally between 4-24 hours. Over time, the sugar will draw out the juices from the strawberries and make a sweet, strawberry syrup.
Mixing the Wet Ingredients
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Then, in a mixing bowl, add the milk, white sugar, egg, sourdough starter/discard, and the melted butter. Whisk thoroughly to beat the egg and fully combine the wet ingredients.
Note: Previously, and in the video, I mixed the melted butter with the dry ingredients. After further testing, I now prefer to mix the melted butter in with the wet ingredients instead of with the flour. This makes the cake batter come together more easily, requires less whisking, and is more similar to my grandmother’s method.
Mixing the Dry Ingredients
In a separate mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, the baking powder, and the salt. Stir to combine. Then, pour the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients and mix together with a spatula until a smooth batter is formed.
Baking
Pour the batter into a buttered, 8×8″ square glass baking pan and bake the sourdough shortcake for 35 minutes at 350°F (180°C). When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, the cake is finished baking.
Serving
Allow the sourdough shortcake to cool for 10-20 minutes before slicing into squares. Serve squares of shortcake topped with heaping spoonfuls of the strawberry topping and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.