Cornbread Strawberry Shortcake is an easy Summer twist on this classic dessert! Vanilla bean cornbread is cubed and tucked into mason jars, then drenched with beautiful, lightly sweetened berries!
If I had to eat three foods for the rest of my life, it would be pizza, cheeseburgers and strawberry shortcake. Obviously I would be super healthy {insert sarcasm} but I would be so, so happy 😉 And I was a pretty happy girl the days these jars of cornbread strawberry shortcake rolled out of my kitchen. Because guys: vanilla bean cornbread! My grandma’s strawberry shortcake strawberries! In mason jars! BOOM! Dessert for every Summer party in 2017.
Cornbread Strawberry Shortcake
Gorgeous strawberries on sale get me at the grocery store. Every. Single. Time. And warm weather takes me back to Summers at my grandma’s house in Ohio and her homemade strawberry shortcake. So when I tucked 3 cartons of strawberries into my cart and the temperatures started climbing … it was strawberry shortcake time!
I was planning to make my grandma’s strawberry shortcake biscuits but when I pulled the sugar down from the cabinet to sweeten the berries, I notice two blue boxes of cornbread mix and inspiration hit. Cornbread would be perfect for shortcake. AND I could add the ground vanilla bean that I picked up at our local farmers’ market to give the cornbread a hint of vanilla. I could not get my oven pre-heating fast enough!
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- I added about 1 teaspoon of ground vanilla bean to two boxes of cornbread mix. I love the vanilla flavor and pretty specks that ground vanilla bean provides in the cornbread. Ground vanilla bean is a little pricey, but a little goes a long way. You can substitute vanilla extract if you prefer or if you are a cornbread purist, leave the vanilla out all together.
- Now, I baked the vanilla bean cornbread in a mini loaf pan. (Like these from Amazon if you are wondering.) I love the slightly crispy golden outside that cornbread gets while it bakes, so by baking it in a mini loaf pan, I could get just a little more of that crust.
- While you can just cut up strawberries and sprinkle them with sugar, my grandma has always pulsed them in a food processor. It breaks up the berries, makes them a little more saucy (hey now!) and gives the berries a smoother consistency. Since I don’t have a food processor, I just used my Ninja to break up the berries.
- Finally, mason jars just make everything taste better. Oh okay, they just make any dessert cuter and these wide mouth 8 oz. jars are my very favorite size right now! I use them all the time – most recently here and here!
Once the vanilla bean cornbread was baked, I cubed it and tucked it in the mason jars. Then, I spooned the berries over it and dessert was served!
If you look closely, you can see how some of the berries soak in to the cornbread – those are my favorite bites!
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PinIngredients
Berry Filling
- Two 16 oz. containers of strawberries (chopped)
- One 6 oz. container of raspberries
- One dry pint of blueberries
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
Cornbread Topping
- Two boxes of corn bread mix (I use Jiffy)
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Mix berries, lemon zest, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl and allow to macerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Mix up cornbread topping.
- Prepare a 3.6 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Spoon berry mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Spoon cornbread mixture over the berries.
- Bake for XX minutes.
- Top with vanilla ice cream or drizzle with a little honey.
I love the crumbly texture of the cornbread with the smooth, sweet berries. Cornbread Strawberry Shortcake is Summer in a jar!
To make entertaining easy, cube the cornbread and store it in the jars until you are ready to serve dessert. Then, just open the jars, top the cornbread with berries and serve!
More of my favorite Strawberry Desserts!
JaneEllen says
Know my Mr. will love this as he loves cornbread, is Okie from Muskogee. Wish could print out but am out of colored ink and payday is Wed. Color ink cartridges are $50 at Sams Club for xl so not as bad as buying HP cartridges. Their cartridges are reused but have never had any problems with them. Love printer but ink for it is ridiculous.
This recipe sounds and looks so good, will be looking for strawberries on sale.
Have great week Keri
Keri says
Jane Ellen – I love cornbread, too, so this was a fun change up on one of my favorite desserts. That printer ink can be expensive and I really appreciate that you print and save my recipes 🙂 Hope you have a fabulous rest of your week!!