Fresh strawberries and homemade Chantilly cream are all you need for the perfect summer dessert.
Strawberries and Cream Recipe Snapshot
Why it's different: A simple upgrade on classic strawberries and cream using homemade Chantilly cream.
What you'll love: Ready in just a few minutes and lets perfectly ripe strawberries shine.
Before you begin: The better your strawberries, the better this dessert will be, so choose ripe, fragrant berries if possible.
When strawberry season comes around, I just want to put fresh strawberries in all my desserts.
But this weekend we went strawberry picking at a local farm, and the strawberries were so juicy and flavorful that I couldn't hide them in a dessert - I just wanted a great way to show them off in all their strawberry glory.
One thing I learned from owning a bakery is that people don't always want the most complicated dessert. In fact, some of the simplest desserts were often the first to disappear. Strawberries and cream is a perfect example.
When strawberry season arrives, and the berries are sweet, fragrant, and bursting with flavour, all they really need is something creamy alongside them.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Homemade Chantilly cream adds a subtle vanilla flavour that pairs beautifully with fresh strawberries.
- Lightly macerating the strawberries draws out their natural juices and intensifies their flavour.
- Keeping the components separate until serving preserves the texture of both the strawberries and the cream.
Ingredients
There are just a few simple ingredients in this easy strawberry dessert.
- Strawberries - Of course, you'll need strawberries! You want to look for lovely red, ripe strawberries. You definitely want fresh berries for this recipe, not frozen.
- Heavy Cream - Use heavy cream, heavy whipping cream or double cream - it's important that it has a high enough fat content (at least 36%)
- Powdered Sugar - This will make a lovely sweet cream, and it will also stabilize it slightly.
- Vanilla - Use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste - this makes the cream taste a little like vanilla ice cream.
See the recipe card below for the full recipe.
How to Make Strawberries and Cream
This strawberries and cream recipe makes a delicious chantilly cream. For more info on this, check out my chantilly cream recipe post.
Prepare Strawberries
Wash and dry your strawberries.
Cut Strawberries
Slice the green tops off and slice strawberries into halves or quarters.
Macerate Strawberries
Sprinkle the sliced strawberries with a few tablespoons of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, stir, and leave to sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.
This will draw out the juices and intensify the strawberry flavor.
Whip Cream
Put the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into a stand mixer and whip on medium speed until thickened to soft peaks.
Finish by Hand
For the best results, finish the cream off by hand to control the texture. Whip until they reach medium peaks.
See my post about soft peaks vs medium peaks vs stiff peaks.
Enjoy!
See my ideas below for different ways to serve your strawberries and cream.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some of the ways you can serve strawberries and cream:
- Family style - Put the strawberries in one large bowl and the whipped cream in another, with serving spoons. Give everyone a small dish and let them help themselves to the strawberry dessert.
- Platter - You could give little bowls, each with a helping of sweet berries and cream for dipping.
- Individual Portions - Spoon layers of strawberries and cream into individual serving dishes, top with some fresh mint leaves for a garnish.
- Trifle dish - Pile all the strawberries and cream into a large serving dish and gently fold together, add a serving spoon.
Variations
Here are a few ideas for some extra pizzazz on your strawberries and cream dessert.
- Chocolate - Make this easy dessert extra special with minimal effort by making a chocolate whipped cream instead.
- Mascarpone - Take your whipped cream to the next level by making it a silky mascarpone cream instead.
- Pistachios - Sprinkle with some finely chopped pistachios for a little crunch
- Champagne Strawberries - Soak the strawberries in champagne for an hour before serving for a tasty twist. Also great with elderflower liqueur.
- Eton Mess - Crumble some broken pieces of meringue into the strawberries and cream for an Eton Mess flavor.
- Dubai Strawberries - Add layers of melted chocolate and crunchy pistachio filling to your strawberries for a creamy take on Dubai chocolate strawberries.
Storage
Once whipped, you can keep the cream in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
I recommend storing the strawberries and cream separately and combining them right before serving.
FAQ
Strawberries and cream is a British classic and the official dessert of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. Wimbledon strawberries and cream have been served at the sporting event since the 19th century!
No, the classic British strawberries and cream recipe is different from the popular Mexican dessert recipe. Fresas con crema is made with sweetened condensed milk, rather than whipped cream.
Whipped cream is just heavy cream that has been whipped to soft peaks. Chantilly cream is a sweet, smooth version of whipped cream made with powdered sugar and vanilla.
You can use either kind of cream to make strawberries and cream. I just like the flavor and texture of chantilly cream better.
In order to whip, your cream must be at least 36% fat content, which means heavy cream or heavy whipping cream in North America, or double cream in the UK.
You can make cream at any thickness for this dessert, but the most popular thickness is to whip the cream to soft peaks for soft, billowy cream around the strawberries. You can see my guide on how to make perfect whipped cream for more info on what to look for.
More Fresh Strawberry Desserts
If you love to use strawberries in your baking, check out some of these strawberry dessert recipes:
See more Easy Dessert Recipes
Strawberries and Cream
Ingredients
- 500 g (18 oz) Strawberries
- 2 tablespoon White Sugar
- ½ tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 240 ml (1 cup) Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or electric whisk
Instructions
- Wash and dry the strawberries. Cut the tops off and slice them into halves or quarters.500 g (18 oz) Strawberries
- Toss the sliced strawberries in a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice, then let sit for 30 minutes to mascerate.2 tbsp White Sugar, ½ tbsp Lemon Juice
- To make the Chantilly cream, add the cold cream and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sift in the powdered sugar. (Get more tips for chantilly cream here)240 ml (1 cup) Heavy Whipping Cream, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, 3 tbsp Powdered Sugar
- Turn the mixer on medium speed until it begins to thicken, then turn it up to high speed gradually.
- Whip until just before medium peaks form. Don't overwhip the cream - it's much better when it's slightly soft. See my guide on the stages of whipped cream.
- To get to a piping consistency, whip for a little bit longer with a hand whisk - you have more control over the thickness this way.
- Serve in a bowl for dipping with the strawberries, or layer the strawberries and cream in individual dishes.
Chris Radwanski says
Such a simple yet delicious combination. Always a winner in my books!