Old-Fashioned Shortcake

  4.4 – 90 reviews  • Shortcake Recipes

I received this simple shortcake recipe from a friend. One of my favorite summer dishes was her mother’s, and it was originally from her. The addition of nutmeg elevates these amazing cakes, which soak up all the strawberry juices.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Additional Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 1 8-inch shortcake

Ingredients

  1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
  2. 1 cup white sugar
  3. 4 teaspoons baking powder
  4. ½ teaspoon salt
  5. ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, or to taste
  6. ½ cup cold butter, cubed
  7. ⅓ cup milk
  8. 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch baking pan.
  2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat together milk and egg in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture until batter is just blended. Spread batter in the prepared baking pan.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 327 kcal
Carbohydrate 50 g
Cholesterol 52 mg
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Protein 4 g
Saturated Fat 8 g
Sodium 483 mg
Sugars 26 g
Fat 13 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Arthur Hamilton
I agree with baking it for a longer time but otherwise, it is a great recipe. Just be sure to keep checking it with a toothpick to see if the centre is done.
Colin Edwards
Baking 15 minutes left it not done inside. HAD TO THROW OUT AND START OVER COOKING IT. Cooked on 350 for 45 minutes,
Lindsay Turner
Too much sugar, temp is too high, but overall…really good.
Scott Le
cooked it 40 minutes on 350
Rebecca Nguyen
Have never made shortcake before today. Bought our first fresh Florida strawberries this week. And I admit I’ve always bought those cake cups they sell for strawberry shortcake. Never again! This recipe was so simple and quick to make. The flavor and the texture were fantastic and the little bit of crunch was nice too! It was the best strawberry shortcake my hubby and I have ever had. He said the shortcake was like something you’d expect from an upscale restaurant.
Jeffrey Rodriguez
I think the temp is too high. If you use a large pan and make it thin, it might be fine. I doubled it and baked it in a 9×13 at 350 for about 45-50 minutes, covering halfway through with foil. I love the base recipe and this is one that gets requested a lot. I’ve also done it with vegan butter substitute and it’s turned out wonderfully.
Jose Long
Wished I read reviewers before following directions exactly. It was cooked even longer and still the middle stick wetly to the bottom of the pan. Cooked longer and slower is needed.
Maria Harris
Very easy to follow and make. I only did half the recipe and it came out great
Steven Mitchell
This is a true shortbread- I did adjust slightly. It is not pourable so you press lightly into pan. I did double the recipe and it turned out beautiful. I also cooked at 450 degrees for about 7 minutes and then cooked for another 13 to 15 at 400 degrees because it was a bit giggly when I wet to take it out of the oven at the recommended time of 15 minutes. – I also sprinkles sugar on top prior to baking. For elevation purposes … I live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado so that could be the reason for temp and cook time adjustment.
Megan Meyer
Sooo good!
Jason Crosby
It’s Strawberry Season! I did halve it since I live alone. Hard to 1/2 one egg…
Derek Fox
I made a similar recipe to this but instead of butter I used canola oil as i needed to use up my oil. recipe The consistency is like a cornbread = Crunchy on the outside & soft inside. I would have rather used butter but these came out beautiful! I am at 8000 ft so baking in a cake pan is useless. I use loaf pans and everytime I do my cakes come out nice and full.
Patrick Miranda
I used listed ingredients plus added 1/4 t of vanilla. Mixed it in a KA mixer starting with the wire whisk attachment to incorporate the dry ingredients and butter bits. Switched to paddle attachment , added the egg and combined with the mixer, added the milk and vanilla and mixed for about 3 minutes. Added batter/dough with a spatula to a greased extra large 6 muffin pan. Put in pre-heated 400 DF oven for 25 minutes, rotating pan at 13 minutes. Came out perfect.
Melissa George
I didn’t have any nutmeg but it was delicious even without it. I’m glad some of the reviewers mentioned that it was not like a batter when you put it in the pan, but more like thick biscuit-like batter. I baked it at 350 for about 15 minutes in a 9 inch pan and it was delicious. I also topped it with a little sugar. It was very porous and soaked up the strawberry juice well. My guests and I loved it.
Daniel Gross
Really good and the nutmeg gave it a fresh taste almost like lemon.
David Hester
I made this for my husband as part of his Father’s Day meal. I am always looking for the best recipes, the ones that make him say, “Always make this one!” Well, for the shortcake, this is THE one! He said I am never allowed to use boxed baking mix to make shortcake again. I am ok with that because this recipe was so quick and easy. I did increase the nutmeg because he loves it. I also baked it at 350 for about half an hour. I was very concerned as it looked like a pie dough after I mixed everything together, but I put it in the pan and hoped for the best. The best is what I got. It made a delicious strawberry shortcake, with his milk on it, which is strange to me, lol, but it turns out lots of people eat it that way.
Michael Bryant
Disappointed that it was not cakelike or even like a biscuit. This recipe is really a scottish shortbread that is undercooked. To bake longer will make it hard, as shortbread should be. Definitely this is not what I would call shortcake, which should have the ability to soak up the tasty strawberry juice. This did not have that ability. It tasted okay, but I don’t think I will make this again.
Travis Davis
I had some angst about this recipe from reading all the reviews. But this shortcake is delicious!!!!! I felt it was a little dry when I was going to put it in my pan so I added 1tsp of vanilla, that wasn’t enough, so I added a dash more milk. I also debated back and forth while prepping bake at 350 or 450??? Decided to try it as written at 15 minutes it was a beautiful golden brown. And hubby loved it! This is actually the first shortcake in the years of our marriage that turn out perfect and tasted so good! Thank for sharing your recipe!!
Margaret Miller
Perfect as is! My new favorite shortbread recipe.
Jessica Weiss
Old fashioned short cake. Oh what a beautiful cake. I was using sweetened berries so I wouldn’t have needed a whole cup of sugar in the batter, but I was so proud of how it turned out. So you can be too, since its yours!
Sandra Gray
My husband has said multiple times, “I really like this shortcake.” I did make some changes. I lowered the oven temperature to 375 degrees and baked it in my 9-inch Pampered Chef dish. Perfectly done with nice golden color. I also reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, and omitted the salt and nutmeg. I used unsalted butter and whole milk. This will be my go-to recipe for shortcake.

 

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