Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

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Vegan strawberry shortcake - this delicate, crumbly, scone-like cake is easy to make and is delicious with a filling of juicy macerated fresh strawberries and vegan pastry cream or whipped cream.

It can be made as one large cake or as individual shortcakes and is the perfect summertime dessert for strawberry season!

Vegan strawberry shortcake on a glass cake stand on a marble board.

What Is A Shortcake?:

A shortcake is a dessert with a short, crumbly, tender texture very similar to a scone or an American style biscuit and it is made in the same way - the cold fat is rubbed into the dry ingredients before the wet ingredients are stirred in to form a soft dough.

It may be made as one large cake baked in a cake tin, or as individual ones baked on a baking sheet.

Shortcake is most commonly filled with macerated strawberries and whipped cream, though other fillings such as lemon curd may also be used.

While many recipes use a classic sponge cake for the cake portion, in my eyes that is not a shortcake, it is a strawberries and cream cake. The cake must have that crumbly, scone-like texture in order to class as a shortcake.

I am not a big fan of whipped cream, so I filled my shortcake with vegan pastry cream instead; I provide instructions for either pastry cream or whipped cream in the recipe.

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan strawberry shortcake.

Ingredient Details:

Strawberries: These are the star of the show so make sure that you get good quality ones with plenty of flavour.

Vegan pastry cream: I don't particularly like whipped cream so I fill my shortcake with my vegan pastry cream instead. If you want to use whipped cream instead then you will need a vegan whipping cream such as Elmlea plant double or Oatly whippable cream, plus a bit of icing (powdered) sugar.

Vegan butter: You must use a block butter/margarine to make this shortcake, not the spreadable kind in a tub. Spreadable will likely make the dough too soft, and the shortcake may be more tough as it contains more water.

I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant butter (the foil wrapped one).

Plant milk: I recommend unsweetened soya but any kind (except tinned coconut) will work.

Vinegar: Mixed with the milk this creates a makeshift buttermilk which gives the shortcake a light, tender texture. I use cider vinegar but white wine or malt would be fine as well.

Plain flour: I use plain (all-purpose) flour; you could use self-raising instead in which case you would need to reduce the baking powder to 1 ½ teaspoons.

Close up of vegan strawberry shortcake on a glass cake stand.

How To Make Vegan Strawberry Shortcake:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Stir the milk, vinegar and vanilla extract together in a jug.

Step 2, the butter rubbed into the dry ingredients.

Step 2: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until it is mostly combined but a few pea sized lumps remain.

Step 3: Stir in the sugar followed by the milk mixture to form a soft, sticky dough.

Step 4, the dough patted out on a floured surface.

Step 4: Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and dust with more flour, pat out into a rough oval shape.

Step 5: Fold the oval in half, pat it out slightly again and fold in half again, repeat once more.

Step 6: Use your hands to pat the dough into a circle.

Step 7: Place the dough in a lined 20 cm/8 in round baking tin and press it out to fill the tin.

Step 8: Bake for 25-30 mins until golden, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Step 9, the macerated strawberries in a bowl.

Step 9: For the strawberries, place the hulled and sliced strawberries in a large bowl and stir in the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to macerate.

Step 10: Carefully slice the cooled shortcake in half using a serrated knife. Cut the top half into 8-10 triangles.

Step 11, the shortcake base topped with strawberries and pastry cream.

Step 11: Spoon the strawberries over the bottom half of the shortcake, pipe the pastry cream or whipped cream on top then arrange the triangle slices on top. Serve right away!

Top Tips:

Try to keep the butter and dough cold, you do not want the butter to melt before the shortcake is baked as that can result in an overly dense texture.

Don't expect this vegan strawberry shortcake to be perfectly neat, it is a messy dessert which is part of it's charm!

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for proper measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml and they should be level, not heaped.

Place the strawberries on the base of the shortcake first THEN the cream, otherwise it will end up an absolute mess, don't ask me how I know.

Cutting the top of the shortcake into slices before assembling it makes it easier to cut into portions without squishing all of the filling out, though you can skip that step if you prefer.

If you are using pastry cream rather than whipped cream it will need at least 4 hours in the fridge to chill, so make sure that you make it first. You can also make it a day or two in advance.

Close up of a slice of vegan strawberry shortcake.

FAQ's:

How should I store it?

This vegan strawberry shortcake needs to be served within a couple of hours of assembly, ideally right away, and definitely on the same day; it will not keep well overnight.

The shortcake and pastry cream (if using) can be made a day in advance. Store the shortcake in an airtight container at room temperature and the pastry cream in a covered bowl in the fridge.

Can I make a smaller batch?

Yes, a half batch of the recipe works perfectly in a 15 cm/6 in round cake tin and takes around 20 minutes to bake. It will serve around 6 people.

Can I make individual shortcakes?

Yes! Pat out and fold the dough as per the recipe then pat it out to about 1.5-2 cm thick. Use a floured 7 cm round pastry cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can, do not twist the cutter, press it straight down.

Place them spaced apart on a lined baking sheet, bring the leftover dough together and pat out again to cut out more shortcakes, you should get 8-9.

Bake at 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6 for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before splitting and filling them.

Individual vegan shortcakes on a baking sheet.

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5 from 1 vote