Nothing says spring more than the fresh, bright flavor of a strawberry shortcake muffin. While strawberry shortcakes are delicious, they are hard to eat on the go. That’s where strawberry shortcake muffins come in.
Bright, fresh, and delicious, these muffins are easy to make, easy to eat, and easy to keep for a couple of days. Made with strawberries, cream, and just the right amount of sugar, make these for your family to have breakfast on the go for your next busy weekend.
This is the kind of breakfast food that tastes just as good with a warm latte as it does with a cold glass of milk. Serve this with fresh strawberries for a simple, easy breakfast that your family will love.
Looking for more muffin recipes? Here are other recipes you might enjoy: Eggnog Muffins, Mochi Muffins, Butter Rum Muffins, Gluten-Free Banana Muffins, and Cranberry Lemon Muffins.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Intense strawberry flavor: This recipe captures the full, sweet and tangy flavor of strawberries. When made during strawberry season with ripe, juicy berries, each bite of scrumptious muffin gives you the essence of summer strawberries.
Convenient: These strawberry shortcake muffins are your ticket to enjoying the deliciousness of strawberry shortcakes on the go! Pack them in your lunch or have them as an easy, mess-free breakfast option.
Great for sharing: These muffins are perfect to share with friends and family. Whether it’s a picnic, a potluck, or just a regular breakfast, these muffins can make any meal feel a little more special.
Recipe Ingredients
To make strawberry shortcake muffins, you will need all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, heavy cream, cold unsalted butter, a large egg, kosher salt, vanilla, and fresh strawberries.
I like to add a little sugar on top of each muffin to add a crunch, but that’s up to you. The vanilla is also optional. Make sure that you use ripe strawberries. It can be hard to get a strong strawberry flavor in baked goods, so look for strawberries that are at their peak
Ingredient Notes
All-purpose Flour: This is the base of our muffin recipe. Make sure to spoon and level your flour for accurate measurements, as too much can lead to a dense muffin.
Granulated Sugar: This adds the right amount of sweetness to the muffins, perfectly complementing the tartness of the fresh berries. Adding a little on top of the muffins before baking gives them a lovely, crunchy top.
Heavy Cream: This gives the muffins a rich, tender crumb. You could also use half cream and half milk or even greek yogurt if desired.
Fresh Strawberries: The star of the show! Make sure to use ripe, juicy strawberries for the best flavor. Frozen strawberries can be used, but they may change the texture of the muffin slightly.
Vanilla Extract: While optional, vanilla extract can help enhance the strawberry flavor and add depth to your muffins. Consider using a tsp almond extract for a variation in flavor.
How To Make Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
Prepare the strawberries: Wash and dry the strawberries. Cut off the tops and cut them into small pieces, roughly half an inch in size. Set aside.
Prepare the batter: Add the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder to a bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the cold butter into small cubes. Add this to the dry ingredients.
Using clean hands, rub the butter into the flour, mixing the dough until it is crumbly and made of small pieces. You can also use forks or a pastry cutter to do this.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and vanilla. Fold in the strawberries.
Bake the muffins: Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Spoon the muffin batter into prepared tins until they are ⅔ of the way up the muffin tins.
Add a sprinkle of granulated sugar on top and bake for 18-20 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
Serve: Allow to cool. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure all your wet ingredients are at room temperature before starting the recipe. This includes your egg and heavy cream.
- Be gentle when mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Overmixing can result in dense muffins. Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- For mini muffins, you can use mini muffin tins and adjust the bake time accordingly. These make perfect little bite-sized snacks.
Storage & Reheating
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. For longer storage, you can freeze them. Place cooled muffins in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months. To reheat, thaw at room temperature or heat in a preheated oven at 300ºF until warmed through.
Additions & Substitutions
Try adding some chopped strawberries to the top of the muffins before baking for an extra punch of strawberry flavor. You could also experiment with adding sour cream or Greek yogurt in place of heavy cream for a tangier flavor. Make sure they are at room temperature before adding to the recipe. Sprinkling coarse sugar on top before baking will give your muffins a sparkly, crunchy top.
If you’re looking to make this recipe dairy-free, coconut cream can be a great substitute for heavy cream. Additionally, if strawberries are not in season or you fancy a change, you can also replace strawberries with other fresh berries. Blueberry muffins would be just as delightful!
Recipe FAQs
What should I serve with this shortcake muffin with strawberries recipe?
These strawberry shortcake muffins pair well with a hot cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk. They can also be served alongside a fresh fruit salad during brunch. For an indulgent dessert, serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. This would be the perfect complement to the intense strawberry flavor of the muffins.
Do I have to use heavy cream or can I substitute milk?
Heavy cream is going to add a different flavor and texture to the dough that is more reminiscent of a strawberry shortcake packed with whipped cream and strawberries. If you don’t have heavy cream, I would consider substituting half-and-half or whole milk, but note that the final product might not be the same.
Can I make these muffins in advance?
While these muffins taste best fresh out of the oven, you can make these up to two days in advance. You can also freeze them and reheat them if you aren’t able to finish all of them before they start to dry out.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
You can use frozen strawberries, however, these will be more challenging to work with. When they defrost, frozen strawberries tend to collapse, so it may be harder to slice the fruits. You may want to try partially defrosting them before slicing them if you substituted frozen for fresh.
Here are a few other muffin recipes you might enjoy!
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus more to top the muffins
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter cold
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups fresh strawberries
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Wash and dry your strawberries.
- Cut the tops off of the strawberries and cut them into small pieces.
- Add 2 ¼ cup flour, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup of granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons baking powder to a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cube 8 tablespoons of cold butter.
- Cut butter into the dry ingredients using clean hands, a pastry cutter, or two forks, until the dough is crumbly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 large egg, 1 ¼ cups heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Fold the strawberries until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into prepared tins ⅔ of the way up.
- Sprinkle with more granulated sugar
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Remove when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow them to cool. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Arielle is a food and drink photographer based in Washington, D.C. She was previously a social science researcher before she fell in love with photography.