Strawberry Shortcake Cups

Strawberry Shortcake Cups are an easy and delicious light dessert. These mini dessert cups are the perfect handheld dessert for upcoming summer barbecues, gatherings, and holidays!

I love serving strawberry shortcake in the summer because it is so light and refreshing! My strawberry shortcake cake is also a stunning dessert that is easy to make but looks so pretty!

I originally published this recipe in 2016ย and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.

A clear plastic cup layered with angel food cake cubes, fresh strawberries, and freshly whipped cream.

How To Make Strawberry Cups

I made these strawberry cups a little lighter by using angel food cake instead of traditional shortcake. That way you can have 2 cups (you’re welcome!)ย However, if you prefer regular shortcake, feel free to substitute that instead. It will be equally as good.

You will only need a handful of ingredients – strawberries, angel food cake, an orange, powdered sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla.

Ingredients: strawberries, oranges, vanilla, confectioners sugar, heavy cream, angel food cake, plastic cups.

For this recipe, I chose to use a store-bought angel food cake, but feel free to make your own if you prefer.

If you’re in a hurry, feel free to use store-bought whipped topping and simply stir in some zest (you’ll need about 4 cups of whipped topping, also known as Cool Whip). ย I highly recommend making freshly whipped cream, but I use shortcuts too, so no judging here if you use store-bought.

FAQs

WHAT SIZE OF CUPS CAN I USE?

You’ll need to use ten 9-ounce cups. You can use smaller cups and make more, or larger cups and make less, depending on how many mini dessert cups you want to make. Smaller mason jars also work well for serving these strawberry trifles.

CAN YOU USE FROZEN STRAWBERRIES?

No, frozen strawberries are way too mushy and will leave the strawberry cups soggy and unappealing. Stick to fresh strawberries for best results.

CAN I USE OTHER BERRIES?

Sure! Mix in a few fresh raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries. Just make sure you clean and dry them before adding them to the mini dessert cups.

Overhead view of completed shortcake cups.

Variations!

CAKE: You can try different cake options, such as regular shortcake, pound cake, or even strawberry cake for an even more intense strawberry flavor.

WHIPPED CREAM: I have made these 24 hours in advance, but the whipped cream does get watery. To fix this, you can follow these directions for the whipped cream portion: In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft and creamy. In another bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream just until soft peaks form. You’ll want them to collapse, not stand up. Add the cream cheese mixture and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the orange zest.

You can also use store-bought Cool Whip or use those cans of redi-whip.

More Tasty Strawberry Recipes

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle Cups

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle Cups -a quick and easy recipe for individual strawberry shortcakes!
Servings: 10
Author: Malinda Linnebur
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (910g) strawberries
  • 1 orange
  • 2 cups (475ml) heavy whipping cream
  • ยฝ cup (55g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 (11 oz)(312g) angel food loaf or cake
  • 10 (9oz) clear plastic cups
  • Mint leaves for garnish optional

Instructions

STRAWBERRIES:

  • Wash and cut your strawberries into quarters (reserve a few strawberries to cut in half for garnish if desired). Place in a medium sized bowl. Zest the orange and reserve for later, you will need about 1ยฝ teaspoons of zest. Juice the orange and add to the strawberries. Gently toss the strawberries and orange juice, set aside.
    2 pounds (910g) strawberries, 1 orange
    Overhead view of macerating strawberries.

WHIPPED CREAM:

  • In a large bowl whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together just until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the reserved 1ยฝ teaspoons of orange zest, set aside. Cube the angel food in to small bite sized pieces.
    2 cups (475ml) heavy whipping cream, ยฝ cup (55g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
    Two pictures showing how to whip the whipped cream.

ASSEMBLY:

  • Cube the angel food cake into ยฝ" cubes. Gently toss the strawberries in the juice one more time.
    1 (11 oz)(312g) angel food loaf or cake
  • Place a small amount of angel food in the bottom of a cup. Top with a few strawberries (don't be afraid to get some of the orange juice in there as well) then whipped cream. Repeat layers one more time. Repeat for remaining cups. Top with a strawberry half and mint leaf if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
    Three pictures showing how to assemble the cups.

Notes

  1. I have made these 24 hours in advance but the whipped cream does get watery. To fix this you can follow these directions for the whipped cream portion: In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft and creamy. In another bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream just until soft peaks form. You’ll want them to collapse, not stand up. Add the cream cheese mixture and beat until stiff peaks. Fold in the orange zest.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 736IU | Vitamin C: 61mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this?Let me know by sharing a picture and tagging @countryside_cravings on Instagram

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16 Comments

  1. If your looking for an elegant desert to make look no further! The added orange is what makes these stand out from all the other recipes for this treat! Do not hesitate to try this! I served it for a baby shower and made 20! I did add Knox unflavored gelatin to stabilize the whip cream as the other person in a comment suggested and it held up very, very well! total hit! thank you!

  2. 5 stars
    I made a double recipe for an outdoor July 4th party of twenty. Everyone raved about it! I did, however, make a few recipe adjustments. First, I used heavy whipping cream but radically reducted the amount of sugar as I donโ€™t like overly sweet whipped cream. I added about 1/4 cup to 4 cups of whipping cream. I didnโ€™t add orange to the cream, but I did use unflavored gelatin to stabilize the whipped cream so it wouldnโ€™t deflate or get watery. I used a combo of pound cake and angel food cake for the cake layers and it tasted really good. Doubling every ingredient worked perfectly for 24 – 10 ounce cups, with one exception: I had to run out and get another 2 cups of whipping cream to complete the top layer. I piped the cream for all layers. I assembled the cups about 4-1/2 hours before we ate, and they held up beautifully! Thanks for this recipe! I will definitely make it again.

  3. Hello! Planning on making these for a work event next week but I need to make them ahead of time. Do you think they would be ok to make the night before and refrigerate or does it get mushy?
    THANK YOU:-)

    1. Just from my personal experience, I wouldn’t make this over 3 hours in advance. The leftovers are still good but yes it does get mushy. You could, however, prep everything and place into separate containers the night before then assemble the trifle cups a couple of hours before serving. I would also replace the homemade whipped cream for store bought whipped cream because it can get a little watery if made to far in advance. Hope this helps and I hope you enjoy!!

  4. I’m planning a rehearsal dinner for my son and his fiancรฉe, and I couldn’t decide on a dessert. Well, his 2 favorite desserts are strawberry shortcake and trifle, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to come across this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!

5 from 1 vote

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