Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes (Gluten Free)

As summer peaks and the hot days and balmy nights continue, the berries are absolutely gorgeous and incredibly sweet. I couldn’t resist making a new shortcake recipe to share with you. Enjoy these Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes while the weather is still warm and the fruit plentiful!

Do you guys know Abby Dodge? She is one of this country’s finest chefs and her recipes are always a notch above everyone else’s. Plus, she is the nicest person! Check out her website and cookbooks – I know you will love her!

These shortcakes are delightful, not too sweet which allows the berries to shine. I think they are perfectly balanced and the touch of bourbon in the whipped cream is a nice addition but optional.  

You can use any berry you like in this recipe, whatever is in season and available to you. This week the strawberries were gorgeous so I went the traditional route, but blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. would all be wonderful in this recipe. I had a few blueberries that I scattered around the outside and love the way they look and taste!

While the recipe seems long, each component is easy to make and can be made a bit in advance. You can make the whipped cream and berries before dinner, and mix up the shortcake dough right before baking for the freshest dessert!

These chocolate shortcakes remind me of my brownie strawberry shortcakes – so good! I love the combo of chocolate and fruit, especially fresh berries. Every bite is better than the last!

I hope you enjoy these Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes while the berries are in season. It is the best way I know to showcase their beautiful flavors! If you want to make these off-season, you can use frozen and thawed berries too.

If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!

Key Ingredients for Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes:

• Fresh berries, sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, unsalted butter, buttermilk, flour or gluten-free flour blend, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coarse sugar

PRO Tip:

You can use any fresh berry that you like and that is ripe which will work beautifully in this recipe. I like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. Just rinse and sugar them to draw out some of their juices before assembling the shortcakes.

PRO Tip:

Whenever you are baking chocolate sweets, always watch carefully because they can be hard to tell when they are done. You don’t want to burn them! Follow your nose – it will usually tell you when baked goods are nearly done and ready to come out of the oven!

How to make Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes:

1. Chop and sugar the berries, cover and refrigerate
2. Whip the cream with bourbon, sugar and vanilla; cover and refrigerate
3. Freeze cubed butter; combine the buttermilk and vanilla and refrigerate
4. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, leaveners, and salt, pulsing until blended; add the butter cubes and pulse until butter is the size of small peas; scrape into a large bowl
5. Add the buttermilk/vanilla to the dry ingredients, stirring and folding until a dough forms; knead on floured surface a few times to smooth out the dough
6. Pat into a rectangle and cut into squares; bake until puffed and cooked through, about 17 minutes; leave on the baking sheet a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack
7. With a serrated knife, cut the tops off the shortcakes; create stacks using the bottom halves, macerated berries, whipped cream, tops, more whipped cream, berry

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Kitchen scale
• Chef’s knife
• Serrated knife
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Food processor
• Baking sheet pan
• Parchment sheets or a silicone baking mat

Gluten-Free Tips:

* The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this recipe for a very reactive person, or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka mixed with two teaspoons brown sugar in place of the bourbon called for.

** You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of flour or regular flour, whisk it, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial gluten-free blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good gluten-free choices.

*** Gluten-free dough is much stickier than regular dough made with wheat flour. I floured my hands and divided the dough into equal pieces, then gently patted them into rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Bake as directed.

You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

Continue to Content

Yield: 8 servings

Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes (GF)

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These Berries and Chocolate Shortcakes are one of the most decadent baked goods you've ever had – imagine the beautiful blending of berries with chocolate and add the lusciousness of whipped cream and you know you're going to enjoy every single bite of this indulgent dessert!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

BERRIES

• 1-1/2 quarts (1.4 L) fresh berries, rinsed, dried, leaves removed
• 1/3 cup (66g; 2-3/8 oz) granulated sugar plus more to taste
• Pinch kosher salt

WHIPPED CREAM

• 2 cups (454g) heavy cream
• 2 tbsp bourbon*, optional or more cream
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or paste

SHORTCAKES

• 8 tbsp (1 stick; 113g; 4 oz) unsalted butter, chilled
• 3/4 cup (170g) buttermilk, chilled
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups (210g**) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend**
• 2/3 cup (132g; 4-5/8 oz) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (28g; 1 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 2 tbsp coarse sugar (such as Turbinado or raw sugar), optional

Instructions

1. Prep and Sugar the Strawberries: Select 4 beautiful large berries (cut them in half lengthwise if strawberries), place in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut the remaining berries into bite-sized pieces. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped berries, sugar, and salt. Toss until blended. Taste one and add more sugar if needed. Cover the bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until the berries have released some of their juices about 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
2. Whip the Cream: In the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl if using a hand mixer, beat the cream until frothy, then add the bourbon* (if using), powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until firm peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or up to 3 hours in advance.
3. Make the Shortcakes: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
4. Cut the butter into small cubes. Place the butter on a plate and freeze until ready to use. Pour the buttermilk into a measuring cup and whisk in the vanilla. Keep cold in the refrigerator until ready to use.
5. Put the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor and pulse until well blended. Add the cold butter pieces and, using short pulses, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal with small pieces of butter (about pea-sized) still visible, about 1 minute. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl.
6. Pour the cold buttermilk and vanilla over the flour mixture and, using a spatula, stir and fold until it forms a shaggy, moist dough with some floury bits remaining. Scrape the dough and any remaining flour onto the counter and knead a few times until the dough is evenly moist and holds together well. If using gluten-free flour, it will likely be quite moist. Use floured hands to form it.***
7. Gently press the dough into a thick 8 x 4-inch rectangle. Using a large sharp knife, trim the edges to make a neat rectangle and cut into 8 equal squares. (See Note below *** if working with gluten-free dough.)
8. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle the tops with the sanding sugar, if using. Bake until puffed and they spring back when the tops are gently pressed, 16 to 18 minutes. Move the sheet to a cooling rack and let the biscuits sit about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
9. To Serve: Using a serrated knife, cut the tops off the shortcakes and place the bottom halves on serving plates. Spoon some of the strawberries, including the juices, over the shortcake and top with a big dollop of the whipped cream, cover with the remaining biscuit tops. Add a dollop of the whipped cream and the reserved pretty strawberry halves. Serve immediately. Rewarm the biscuits in a low oven if made ahead.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com

Notes

* The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this recipe for a very reactive person or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka plus a little brown sugar in place of the liquor called for.

** You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend or regular all-purpose flour. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good gluten-free choices.

*** Gluten-free dough is much stickier than regular dough made with wheat flour. I floured my hands (with gluten-free flour) and divided the dough into equal pieces, then gently patted them into rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Bake as directed.

You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

Original recipe from Abby Dodge

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 471Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 586mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 9g

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

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Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases without any additional cost to you. This page may contain affiliate links. The author makes no claims regarding the presence of food allergens and disclaims all liability in connection with the use of this site. This post was first shared in Aug 2020. The article was updated in 2025.