Strawberry Banana Shortcakes

Skip the store-bought strawberry shortcake and try this new take on a summer classic. These strawberry banana shortcakes are made with your over-ripened bananas and are the perfect base to the rich strawberry sauce and fresh whipped cream. It is delicious any time of day and with one bite you won’t be able to get it out of your head!

If you are craving more strawberry recipes try my Strawberry Blueberry Pie, frozen Strawberry Daiquiri, or put your strawberry tops to good use in this Strawberry Simple Syrup!

I seem to have over-ripened bananas in my freezer at all times. I buy a beautiful bunch of bananas at the grocery store with the intent to eat one a day. Time passes, they get browner and browner, and I just throw them in the freezer.

This recipe combines the beloved fruit combination of strawberry and banana while using those frozen over-ripened bananas. The banana is baked in the shortcakes which gives a lovely banana bread type shortcake, smother that with strawberry and sweet cream… You now have a winner!

For more overripe banana recipes you have got to try my Banana Carrot Muffins or these Cranberry Banana Bread and Banana Oat Muffins.

What Makes a Traditional Shortcake?

We see a lot of interpretations of shortcake and most of them in the United States resemble an actual cake-like texture. Traditional shortcake is a mix between cake and a biscuit. It is sweet like a cake but resembles the crumble of a biscuit.

The word short refers to the tenderness of a dough and in this case it is crumbly. But don’t worry, the syrup from the strawberries soaks into the shortcake making it tender and luscious.

Making the Banana Shortcakes

The process to making the banana shortcakes is similar to making biscuits. And I will warn you, there is some freezing time required, thirty minutes total so you will want to factor that in.

First things first, prepare a baking sheet with either a silicon mat or parchment paper. Next we will mix together the wet ingredients and set them aside: bananas, heavy whipping cream, and the egg. Then move on to whisking your dry ingredients together: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and brown sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until combined.

TIP: Do not overmix your batter. I know it is tempting to keep mixing but STOP! I have said this a million times and I will say it again, mixing builds up gluten and building up the gluten will make these shortcakes extra tough and dry.

Pour the batter onto your prepared baking sheet and mold with your hands. You want it to be a two inch thick rectangle. The dough will be a bit sticky but that is totally normal. Freeze it for twenty minutes; this makes the dough easier to cut and pull apart before baking them.

Remove your dough from the freezer and cut in eight squares with a large knife. Do not saw your dough back and forth. Press straight down into the dough, rock back and forth and few times, and pull the knife back up.

Once you have eight even squares rearrange them on the baking sheet so they are one inch apart. Put them back in the freezer for ten minutes; this chill time will keep your dough from spreading too much so you keep the thick shape. Preheat your oven to 375° F (191° C).

TIP: To prevent burnt bottoms place an empty baking sheet on the wrack below the shortcakes.

Bake your shortcakes for twenty to twenty five minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling wrack.

Two Ingredient Strawberry Sauce

No need to complicate this strawberry sauce. All it requires is fresh strawberries and granular sugar. Refrigerate it overnight and it makes a rich syrup.

TIP: Be sure to thoroughly clean your strawberries so you don’t have any nasty chemical or bugs in your syrup. I like to spray my berries with one part water and one part vinegar, let them soak for ten minutes, and rinse with cool water. I allow them to dry before cutting them by setting them green stem down on a dishcloth.

Whipped Cream Topping With Stability

This whipped cream topping is special because (1) it does not weep in the hot and cold temperatures and (2) it is very stable. The secret is meringue powder. Meringue powder is made with shelf-stable dried egg whites and it acts as a stabilizer. It also adds the vanilla flavor we want in a whipped cream. Meringue powder can be bought in the cake/baking section of many grocery stores, at major craft stores which have baking supplies, or online.

If you do not have the time or cannot find meringue powder you can leave it out. The powdered sugar will offer enough stability but not over time or in extreme hot and cold temperatures. You will want to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to your whipped topping to get the vanilla flavor as well.

Assembling the Strawberry Banana Shortcakes

You are going to want to cut the shortcakes in half like you would a biscuit. Then, it’s easy as one, two, three: banana shortcake, strawberry syrup, and whipped cream topping. You can add as much or as little as you would like. Repeat the process with the top half of your shortcake and devour!

TIP: You can serve one half of the shortcake per person and get sixteen smaller servings instead of eight larger servings as well.

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