Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits with White Chocolate Whipped Cream GF

Are you looking for an easy and delicious dessert for your 4^th of July party? These Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits with White Chocolate Whipped Cream are incredible. All the flavors you love with even more fruit perfect for your celebrations. Mix and match your favorites for a red, white, and blue dessert!

Strawberry shortcake, the quintessential summertime dessert has always been one of my favorites. Every year for my birthday in June, while everyone else wanted layer cakes, I always asked for shortcake. I love the sweetened fruit and its juices as they soak into the cake and blend with the luscious whipped cream.

This year I discovered the joy of a white chocolate mousse and thought I would take that concept and simplify it. When you combine melted white chocolate with whipped cream and add it to the fresh fruit, it becomes truly decadent and perfect for a Chocolate Monday treat for all of you!

With the Fourth of July this week, my mind is spinning with patriotic recipes and desserts. Throw in a few blueberries with the strawberries and Old Glory comes to life on the dessert buffet.

One of my secret ingredients that makes everything taste better is vanilla sugar. You can use it anywhere you would ordinary sugar, like in sugaring the fruits. It perfumes the foods with the essence of vanilla, adding another layer of flavor to anything you make with it.

The traditional way to serve strawberry shortcake is with a split biscuit or sponge cake topped with berries, but if you are going to a picnic, potluck, or hosting a gathering, I thought it would be fun (and a whole lot easier to transport) if I turned it into parfaits. I have to admit it is easier to eat and may become my preferred way of serving it.

Like most of you, I grew up eating premade whipped toppings on desserts unless my grandmother was in town. She always made whipped cream by hand. I learned early how much better it tastes. I also appreciate the lack of artificial ingredients. Besides all that, it is incredibly easy to make from scratch – try it and you won’t go back to the premade stuff.

In the San Francisco Bay Area we are incredibly fortunate to have a huge number of small local producers of just about any ingredient we want or need. When it comes to cream, try to buy from a dairy that believes in organic farming and humane treatment of their cows. It makes all the difference in the quality and flavor.

My personal local favorite producer is Straus Family Creamery out of Marshall, CA. I highly recommend all of their products, especially their heavy cream for whipping.

Parfait usually refers to a layered dessert, often a combination of fruits and whipped or pastry cream, but can also be used to describe any number of layered concoctions. This is one dessert that really benefits from being served in a glass container to show off the beautiful layers.

When buying the fruits for your parfaits, look for bright colors that will contrast with the white whipped cream. Blueberries and cherries or raspberries are perfect for the Fourth! Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits are always a crowd-pleasing dessert.

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!

Ingredients needed for Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits:

• Fruits: such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, etc., vanilla sugar or granulated sugar
• Shortcakes: heavy cream, GF flour blend or regular all-purpose flour, salt, vanilla sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, turbinado sugar
• White Chocolate Whipped Cream: white chocolate, heavy cream

PRO Tip:

The white chocolate whipped cream is also great with chocolate cake, brownies, pancakes, or just eaten with a spoon. Beware, it is addicting!

PRO Tip:

When making shortcakes or biscuits, try to cut straight down and not pull the knife toward you. The baked goods will rise higher with straighter sides if you cut down and pull the knife back up before making the next cut.

How to make Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits:

1. Fruits: Toss sliced strawberries with vanilla sugar or granulated sugar. Add the other fruits, cover and refrigerate, tossing occasionally.
2. Shortcakes: Whisk the cream to soft peaks and transfer to another bowl. Place the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and lemon zest in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix to blend then add the whipped cream and beat just until it forms a ball. Turn out on a floured surface and knead briefly by hand to finish mixing it and forming into a dough.
3. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Cut into thirds then cut each piece in half to form squares of dough. Transfer to a parchment-covered baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
4. Bake at 400°F (204°C) for about 20 minutes then leave on the baking sheet about 2 minutes to firm up before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
5. White Chocolate Whipped Cream: Melt the white chocolate with 1/4 cup of the cream in a bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water in the bottom. When nearly all melted, remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
6. In another bowl, beat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream to firm peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the white chocolate mixture until there are no streaks remaining without deflating the cream any more than you have to. Taste and if you want it sweeter, add 1 tbsp powdered sugar and stir it in. Refrigerate until ready to assemble parfaits.
7. To Assemble: Break the shortcakes into bite-sized pieces and place a couple in the bottom of each glass serving dishes. Top with a spoonful of the fruits and their juices, add a few more pieces of shortcake and a dollop of the whipped cream. Add more cake, fruit, and finish with the whipped cream. Serve immediately.

PRO Tip: Simplified Version and Shortcuts

Use scones you buy from a bakery or quality grocery store, use sweetened whipped cream without the melted white chocolate, or substitute softened vanilla ice cream. You can even use frozen and thawed fruits in a pinch. Any version will be delicious and the perfect ending to your meal.

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

• Kitchen scale
• Chef’s knife and paring knife
• Microplane grater
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Rolling pin
• Medium saucepan
• Heatproof bowl 

Gluten-Free Tips:

Be sure you use gluten-free flour on the counter to knead the dough and also on the rolling pin when rolling it out to a rectangle. And be sure the rolling pin is dedicated to gluten-free. You cannot use the same one for both gluten-full and gluten-free!

*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 gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup 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 All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.

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.

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Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits with White Chocolate Whipped Cream GF

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Are you looking for an easy and delicious dessert for the 4th of July? These Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits with White Chocolate Whipped Cream are incredible. All the flavors you love with even more fruit, perfect for the holiday celebrations. Mix and match your favorites for a red, white, and blue dessert!

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

Fruits

• About 1 lb (454g) strawberries, tops discarded, and sliced or chopped
• 6 tbsp (74g) vanilla sugar or regular granulated sugar
• Assorted other red and blue fruits, like blueberries, cherries, raspberries, etc. (halve and pit the cherries if using)

Shortcakes

• 1 cup (227g) cold heavy cream
• 1-1/2 cups (180g*) gluten-free all-purpose flour* or regular all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar or granulated sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 3 tbsp coarse sugar crystals, such as turbinado, optional

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

• 4 oz (113g) white chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup (227g) cold heavy cream, divided
• Powdered sugar, optional

Instructions

1. Prepare the Fruit: In a large bowl, toss the strawberries with the vanilla sugar. Add the other fruits, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Toss occasionally to evenly distribute the sugar and promote the creation of juices.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet pan with parchment.
3. Make the Shortcakes: In a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whip the cold cream to soft peaks. Use a spatula to transfer it to another bowl.
4. Place the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and zest in the bowl of your stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, mix to blend. Add the softly whipped cream and beat until the mixture just forms a ball. Do not overbeat. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface (use gluten-free flour if needed) and knead briefly by hand to finish mixing it and form into a dough.
5. Roll the dough out to a rectangle about 1-inch (3 cm) thick. Cut the dough into 6 squares. Transfer squares to the parchment-covered baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar if desired.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Leave on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
7. Make the White Chocolate Whipped Cream: Melt the white chocolate with 1/4 cup (57g) of the cream in a bowl set over simmering water in a saucepan. When the chocolate is nearly all melted, remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
8. In a separate bowl beat the remaining 3/4 cup (170g) cream to firm peaks. When you lift the beater blade, the cream will hold a peak but the tip will fall over. Do not over-beat.
9. Fold the whipped cream into the white chocolate mixture until no streaks remain. Be sure not to over mix or you will deflate the cream. Taste and if you want it sweeter, stir in 1 tbsp powdered sugar. Refrigerate until ready to assemble parfaits.
10. To Assemble: When ready to serve, break the shortcake squares into bite-sized pieces. Place a couple of pieces in the bottom of each of your serving dishes. Top with a spoonful of berries and some of their juices, a few more pieces of cake, and a dollop of the white chocolate whipped cream. Add more pieces of cake, berries and finish with the whipped cream. Serve immediately.
11. Simplified Version: Use scones you buy from a bakery or quality grocery store and use sweetened whipped cream without the melted white chocolate (use powdered sugar). You can even use frozen and thawed fruits in a pinch. Any version will be delicious and the perfect ending to your meal.

Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com

Notes

Be sure you use gluten-free flour to knead and roll out the shortcake dough if you are watching gluten! Also, be sure to use a new rolling pin or one dedicated to just gluten-free baking. You cannot use the same pin for both gluten-full and gluten-free doughs.

*You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. 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 choices.

You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.

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.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 438Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 624mgCarbohydrates: 90gFiber: 2gSugar: 40gProtein: 7g

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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