Name: Strawberry Shortcake Parfait
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 26 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs Strawberries; 1/4 cup Sugar; 1 White cake mix; 3 Eggs; 3/4 cup Water; 1/2 cup Vegetable oil; 1 tbsp Butter to grease pan; Whipped cream or ice cream

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This past fall, I made the most delicious and easy strawberry shortcake parfaits in remembrance of my mother for her funeral. Strawberry shortcake was my mom’s favorite dessert and I thought it would be fun for all the guests to have a sweet treat to celebrate her life. I layered the ingredients in glass parfait cups so that the guests could see all the layers of yumminess! My mom would have approved of this form of presentation 🙂

There is a funny story behind her passion for strawberry shortcake though…

When I was a young girl, my mother and I would occasionally go to this large department store about 30 minutes from our home for a day of shopping and a special mother-daughter lunch out. Woodwards was the name of the department store and it had a restaurant with amazing homemade style food. My mom would tell me prior to heading in to just order soup because then we could get a dessert. Our favorite dessert was strawberry shortcake and Woodwards made the best one I have ever had.

There was one embarrassing part to it though and that was the dessert was huge! When the waitress brought them out everyone would stare to see who was getting these enormous desserts at lunch. I wanted to crawl under the table but not my mom. She sat there with the biggest smile on her face, savouring the moment that she could dive in and gobble down this yummy dessert.

Crystal and her mom pretending to hitch hike in San Francisco

It is memories like those that I choose to focus on. Losing a mom is never easy but I had 93 years with her so we were both very fortunate.

Now let’s get on with this easy recipe for the most perfect delicious treat on a hot summer day!

Table of Contents

Ingredients for Strawberry Shortcake Parfait:

2 pounds fresh strawberries
1/4 cup of sugar
White cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
Butter to grease the pan
Whipped Cream
Optional – Vanilla Ice Cream

Equipment:

Parfait cups, parfait glasses, tall glass contaners such as a mason jar
Medium bowl
Knife
Measuring cups
13 x 9 pan
Stand Mixer
Spatula

Step 1: Prepare the strawberries

Wash the strawberries well and remove the stems.

Strawberries on a cutting board with tops removed

Choose three perfect strawberries and slice them in layers. These will be used as a garnish on the side of the parfait cup.

Cut the rest of the strawberries into pieces and place in a bowl.

Chopped up strawberries on a cutting board

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over the strawberry slices and then mix well.

Sprinkling sugar onto cut up strawberries

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refridgerator. You could do this a few hours before or even the night before as the sugar brings out the natural strawberry flavor.

Step 2: Prepare the cake

I used a white cake mix but you could also make a pound cake, angel food cake, sponge cake or pre-made dessert cups from your grocery store.

Ingredients for white cake including cake mix, eggs, oil and water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for aluminum or glass pans or 325 degrees for a non-stick pan.

Grease the bottom only of a glass pan but grease the bottom and sides of all other types of pans.

Place the cake mix in the mixing bowl, along with the eggs, vegetable oil and water. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into the pan and then place in the oven for 26 to 31 minutes. Check by placing a toothpick in the center of the cake. When the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.

Step 3: Assembling the strawberry shortcake parfait

The strawberry parfaits should only be assembled shortly before they will consumed because otherwise the cake will become soggy and the whipped cream will shrink.

We will be layering cake, strawberries, whipped cream/ice cream, cake, strawberries and whipped cream.

My parfait cups were very narrow at the bottom, so I had cut the cake into small pieces so they would fit.

Cut up pieces of white cake on a red plate with a glass parfait cup

Then add in a layer of strawberries.

Then top with whipped cream. This is where optionally you could use a layer of vanilla ice cream.

Now that you will be higher up in the cup it should be wide enough to place a full piece cake. I estimated the size of the cup and then used a measuring cup to indent the cake and then cut around it with a knife. This gave me the perfect sized round cake to place next.

Then layer with the sliced strawberries.

Finally add a large dollop of whipped cream.

Garnish with the strawberry slices. I placed the sliced strawberries against a tall portion of whipped cream but you could also cut a slice into the bottom of the strawberry and hang it on the edge of the parfait cup.

Adding strawberries to strawberry shortcake parfait

Store any unused macerated strawberries in an airtight container. They will last 2-3 days.

Enjoy!

In early summer, this is our go-to dessert.

Strawberry shortcake in a parfait cup with a gold spoon

They strawberry shortcake parfaits are also perfect for events like baby showers, wedding showers, birthdays, family get-togethers, etc.

I hope they become your family favorite too!

Strawberry Shortcake Parfait

Strawberry shortcake made with white cake and placed in a parfait cup

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 26

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 414 kcal

Equipment

8 Glass parfait cups
1 Bowl
1 Knife
1 Measuring cups
1 Stand Mixer
1 9×13 glass pan
1 Spatula

Ingredients

2 lbs Strawberries
1/4 cup Sugar
1 White cake mix
3 Eggs
3/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1 tbsp Butter to grease pan
Whipped cream or ice cream

Instructions

PREPARING STRAWBERRIES
Wash the strawberries well and remove the stems.
Choose three perfect strawberries and slice them in layers. These will be used as a garnish on the side of the parfait cup.
Cut the rest of the strawberries into pieces and place in a bowl.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over the strawberry slices and then mix well.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refridgerator. You could do this a few hours before or even the night before as the sugar brings out the natural strawberry flavor.
PREPARING THE CAKE
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for aluminum or glass pans or 325 degrees for a non-stick pan.
Grease the bottom only of a glass pan but grease the bottom and sides of all other types of pans.
Place the cake mix in the mixing bowl, along with the eggs, vegetable oil and water. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour into the pan and then place in the oven for 26 to 31 minutes. Check by placing a toothpick in the center of the cake. When the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.
ASSEMBLING STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE PARFAIT
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for aluminum or glass pans or 325 degrees for a non-stick pan.
Grease the bottom only of a glass pan but grease the bottom and sides of all other types of pans.
Place the cake mix in the mixing bowl, along with the eggs, vegetable oil and water. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour into the pan and then place in the oven for 26 to 31 minutes. Check by placing a toothpick in the center of the cake. When the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.

More Inspiration

I hope you enjoyed this strawberry shortcake parfait recipe.

If you are looking for other recipes to make with fresh strawberries, please check out this post where I show you how to make a heart shaped cake with strawberry garnishes and also how to make heart shaped strawberries dipped in chocolate. Both of these recipes are desserts your whole family will enjoy.