Strawberry Shortcake Cups (with Cobbler Topping)

Strawberry Shortcake Cups are mini strawberry shortcakes with a juicy strawberry filling and a generous portion of shortcake biscuit on top. Baked until bubbly and golden brown, this recipe is the best mash-up of two iconic strawberry desserts that will surely satisfy any sweet tooth.

I love summer berries just as much as I love baking itself. But sometimes, it is just so difficult to decide what to make. This recipe happened because I was craving two things at once. Imagine strawberry shortcake and strawberry cobbler got married and had children! You’d have a litter of these delicious mini strawberry shortcake cobbler babies running around. The best thing is you won’t have to share. And that, my friends, is the beauty of these individual desserts.

Why you’ll love this mini strawberry shortcake recipe

• Individually sized for easy serving- you won’t have to worry about making sure everyone gets the same portion when you make strawberry shortcake in a cup. You can share, but you certainly don’t have to.
• Easy cleanup – because each portion is made in its own ramekin, you won’t need serving plates. Simply bake and serve!
• Two desserts in one – enjoy everything you love about berry shortcake and fruit cobbler in each adorable mini strawberry shortcake.

Tools you’ll need

You’ll need the following tools to make strawberry shortcake cups:

• Six 10 oz ramekins for baking and serving.
• A baking sheet to place the ramekins on to make transferring in and out of the oven easier.
• A large cookie scoop to portion out the cobbler topping.
• A kitchen scale to measure out the ingredients. Measuring cups and spoons will work too but a scale will give you more accurate measurements and minimize dirty dishes for easy clean up.

Ingredients and substitutions

As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:

1. Strawberry filling – made with fresh strawberries, orange zest, granulated sugar, tapioca flour, and a pinch of salt. If fresh berries aren’t in season, you can use frozen strawberries instead. The tapioca flour helps thicken the filling, but if you can’t find it, you can use the same amount of cornstarch or all-purpose flour as a substitute.

2. Shortcake – the shortcake portion is your standard shortcake biscuit dough (like in this strawberry shortcake recipe) made with all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, unsalted butter, plain yogurt, milk, an egg, and pure vanilla extract. You can use sour cream instead of yogurt if needed. The small bit of milk is used to thin out the dough.

3. Turbinado sugar – I usually sprinkle some turbinado sugar on each mini strawberry shortcake to add a bit of texture and sweetness. White sanding sugar will work too.

How to make strawberry shortcake in a cup

The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Prepare the strawberry filling

Place the chopped strawberries in a large mixing bowl with the orange zest. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and tapioca flour. Sprinkle the mixture over the berries and mix. Place in the fridge to chill.

Tip: The extra time in the fridge will give all of the flavors in the strawberry shortcake cobbler filling a chance to really meld together. Plus, it’s better to keep the filling refrigerated while you work on the shortcake biscuit, rather than at room temp, to keep it fresh.

Make the shortcake dough

Add the egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla to a small bowl and beat to combine.

In another, larger bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. Incorporate the cubed butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until a coarse crumb forms.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and introduce the liquid mixture. Use a spatula to fold everything together until a wet dough forms.

Assemble and bake

Divide the strawberry filling evenly amongst the ramekins. Spoon the shortcake dough over each ramekin.

Top the strawberry shortcake cups with turbinado sugar and bake for 25-28 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the tops are golden brown. Allow them to cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!

Note: If you aren’t sure whether your strawberry shortcake dessert cups are ready to pull out of the oven, do a quick toothpick test! Insert a toothpick into the center of one of the shortcakes. If it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, you can remove them from the oven.

More baker’s tips

• Make sure the butter is cold – cold butter creates little pockets of fat in the dough. These pockets melt and create steam, which in turn creates the flaky layers in the biscuit topping that you know and love.
• Keep all refrigerated ingredients cold – similar to making biscuits, all of your ingredients should be cold in order to ensure the topping of your strawberry shortcake cups will become tall and fluffy. The cold ingredients will keep the butter cold, which will start to evaporate right away in the hot oven, creating the steam needed to help the dough rise.
• Prepare the strawberry filling first – yes, it makes the most sense logically, but there’s another reason for making the filling first. The orange zest and sugar draw out the natural juices in the berries, which intensifies their flavor and creates a syrupy sauce that works very well here.
• Experiment with flavors – I love the orange and strawberry combination for this mini strawberry cobbler recipe, but lemon or lime will work just as well. You can also add herbs like mints and basils.

Storage

Strawberry shortcake cups are best enjoyed fresh. They will keep in the fridge for a few days, but the filling will quickly cause the biscuit topping to go soggy. It’s not the end of the world as the flavors are still there, but the texture does go a bit off. Because of this, I usually only make as many as I’ll need.

That said, if you do have leftovers, you can place them in an airtight container and store them for 3-5 days.

To reheat, use your microwave and heat in 30-second bursts until warmed through. Or, you can reheat them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

FAQs

More strawberry desserts

• Strawberry and Cream Pie
• Strawberry Hand Pies
• Strawberry Rose Tart
• Strawberry Galettes
• Strawberry Dump Cake
• Chocolate Strawberry Hand Pie

5 from 3 votes

Strawberry Shortcake Cups (with Cobbler Topping)

By Trang

Strawberry Shortcake Cups are mini strawberry shortcakes with a juicy strawberry filling and a generous portion of shortcake biscuit on top. Baked until bubbly and golden brown, this recipe is the best mash-up of two iconic strawberry desserts that will surely satisfy any sweet tooth.

Servings: 6 cups

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 28 minutes mins

Total Time: 58 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

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Filling

• ▢ 2 lbs strawberry, trimmed & sliced, yield 6 cups, 808 g
• ▢ Zest of half a large orange
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 65 g
• ▢ A pinch of salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon tapioca flour, 17 g

Shortcake

• ▢ 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 184 g
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar, 44 g
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 g
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 g
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder, 4 g
• ▢ ⅓ cup unsalted butter, 77 g, cold and cubed
• ▢ ½ cup plain yogurt or sour cream, 110 g, cold
• ▢ 3 tablespoon milk, 44 g, cold
• ▢ 1 large egg, cold
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 3 g
• ▢ 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, 11 g

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Instructions 

• Wash strawberries, remove the stems, cut the small ones in half and quarter the larger ones. Add to a medium mixing bowl along with the orange zest.
• In a smaller bowl whisk together the sugar, salt and tapioca flour, sprinkle sugar mixture over the strawberries and mix gently with a spatula. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• In a small mixing bowl, beat together the egg, yogurt, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
• Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Toss the cubed butter in the flour mixture and use the tip of your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until coarse crumbs form, working quickly so the butter doesn’t melt.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the liquid mixture set aside earlier to it. Fold with a spatula until a wet dough forms.
• Set 6 tall ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide the strawberry filling among the ramekins and spoon the shortcake dough over the strawberry filling.
• Sprinkle the top with plenty of turbinado sugar. Bake for 25 – 28 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the top is cooked through and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the shortcake portion should come out clean.
• Remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a wire rack to allow to cool.

Notes

• Tapioca flour can be substitute with cornstarch or all-purpose flour to thicken the strawberry filling. Use the same amount called for in the recipe.
• Frozen strawberries can be use if fresh strawberry is out of season.
• 10 oz ramekins were used in this recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 255g, Calories: 373kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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