Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Florida Strawberry Growers Association and learn all about Florida strawberries. When I arrived, we were all talking about strawberry shortcakes and someone mentioned having one on a fried donut. I was like WHAT? I need to make that. And I did. It was amazing and I will be doing this again and again!
Photographed here, the shortcakes are on Pembroke Collection plates by Q Squared. I found out about Q Squared in Utah last year and love love their products. Totally durable and reasonably priced…it's great for every day and for entertaining. 🙂 That's their flatware too!
These strawberries are so perfect. I had fun playing around with them with my camera. I ate a lot of strawberries…well, because I came home with 10 POUNDS!
This was our group. I help plan get togethers with local food bloggers from the Central Florida area. That's Sue on the left, she organized this event for us!
Strawberry flowers. Once they bloom, it takes 35 days for a strawberry to grow. I love this photo because you can see the green unripe strawberry growing out of the the flower and how the calyx starts!
Strawberry fields. We were lucky enough to be able to pick strawberries and taste them straight from the field. It was amazing.
The best way to store strawberries? Completely dry and in the refrigerator at 33 degrees F. Strawberries don't actually freeze until at least 28 degrees F.
We visited the FSGA's strawberry fields and BBI Produce. It was so neat to hear all about the research and the strawberry varieties grown in Florida. Strawberries are planted in October and harvest from November and usually until March.
And then we went to lunch at Ole Town Pizza in Plant City. Amazing amazing pizzas and these rolls, were divine. I had two. We also had the best ever strawberry salad. I'm going to recreate that salad soon!
We then made our way to Parkesdale Farm Market and enjoyed strawberry shortcakes and the most amazing strawberry milkshakes. Shortcakes are only available during strawberry season…I recommend you head down there if you're ever in the Plant City area!
Back to the recipe…
I hulled and sliced the strawberries and put them into a bowl with sugar and a few drops of water. Mix.
The amount of sugar you'll need depends on how sweet your strawberries are. These were really sweet so I didn't need much.
This is a total cheater recipe. I used canned biscuits. These make great easy fried donuts. We make them all the time. Don't judge. I'm serious, I don't want to hear it. 🙂 If you want to make your doughnuts from scratch, here's a great recipe for homemade doughnuts!
Fry them in some oil.
Let them sit for one minute and then dip them in sugar.
I made homemade whipped cream with vanilla extract and sugar. You can use canned whipped cream if you want.
Photographed on Pembroke Collection plates with flatware by Q Squared.
For reals, this is amazing. I think I like this even better than actual shortcakes. Fried donuts. Enough said.
Fried Donut Strawberry Shortcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- canned refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, 5 count
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- First add oil to a large pot and turn heat to medium low.
- Prep strawberries. Place in a bowl and add sugar and 2 to 3 dashes of water. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
- Turn oil to medium and while waiting for the oil to get to 325 degrees F.
- Add 1 cup sugar to a bowl and set aside. Prep a small baking sheet and cover it with foil and paper towels and set aside. Open can of biscuits and separate biscuits. Using a small circle cookie cutter or the tip of a round pastry tip, punch a hole in the middle of each biscuit.
- Fry 2 to 3 donuts at a time for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove the finished donuts and place on covered baking sheet. Allow donuts to cool for only 1 minute.
- Carefully and one at a time, place donuts in the bowl with sugar and use a spoon to cover.
- Add heavy cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, whip until there are stiff peaks.
- Place each donut on a small plate, top with strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Other strawberry recipes:
Strawberry Mojito Slushies
Strawberry, Grapefruit and Ginger Smoothie
Sautéed Strawberry & Sugarsnap Salad with Almonds
Strawberry Bruschetta Grilled Cheese
Strawberries and Cream Bars
Basic Peach & Strawberry Jam
Disclosure: Thank you to FSGA for hosting our blogger group for the farm tour. This post is sponsored by Q Squared. I only share with you my honest opinions and brands that I love.
jhon says
What an adorable spread of little cuties. I love all these deserts. So unique! Thanks for the recipes you share.
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg says
I love Florida strawberries. I always miss the Strawberry Festival, but my friend tells me how wonderful the shortcake is. These donuts look fabulous. 🙂
Debi says
These look truly yummy and very summery! Love the pics!
Marilyn @ Forkful.net says
Wow! That is one epic post! Adam and I pretty much ate strawberry shortcake a la mode for a solid week after this visit. 😀
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
What a great recipe! It makes me want to go buy some strawberries!
Toni | BoulderLocavore says
These are so fantastic Julie; I can almost taste them. What a genius idea!
Amanda says
Love this! So delicious and creative!
Candi says
I love it! Thank you for being real with the canned biscuits. Some days everything can be perfectly homemade and organic.
And then there’s real life. 80/20 right?
Big smile!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
Sounds like such a fun day! These shortcake donuts are such a great treat to enjoy all those strawberries with! They look incredible!
Jenny Flake says
What a creative idea! …drooling over these donuts 😀
Glory/ Glorious Treats says
Totally gorgeous in every way!! Now I’m really craving strawberries!
Linda | Brunch with Joy says
Julie, these donuts are beyond amazing. They’re absolutely drool-worthy and Pembroke Collection are stunning. So glad to read your post here and strawberries.
Emily @ Life on Food says
Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite desserts. I didn’t think you could make it any better than the original but let me say this fried donut wins the prize. Lovely!
Josie says
We’ve been getting some AMAZING Florida strawberries already this year. So jealous that you got to go visit the farms – how fun! And these shortcakes look amazingly sinful and delicious. WANT!
Annalise @ Completely Delicious says
Looks like such a fun trip – I bet the strawberries fresh from the field were incredible! Love this recipe too – so fun!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Donut shortcakes?!? These sound like the BEST shortcakes!! Holy delicious!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Love this twist to traditional strawberry shortcake!
cookbook queen says
This is the kind of dessert I dream about. Perfect!!
Tracy Post says
I am going to have to try this one! I love how food bloggers are heading to the fields to cover from farm to table.
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
What a gorgeous dessert, Julie! I can’t wait for the strawberry season. We love them!
Rochelle @ Oh So Sweet Baker says
Mmmm… These look soo good I feel like licking the screen!