Sourdough Discard Strawberry Shortcake Bars

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bars are an easy twist on classic sourdough strawberry shortcake. They feature a buttery sourdough shortcake base topped with cream cheese frosting and sweet sliced strawberries.

It’s the easiest sourdough strawberry shortcake dessert out there to please a crowd!

Slice of sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bar with layer of shortcake, cream cheese frosting, and topped with sliced strawberries sitting on brown parchment paper with sourdough strawberry shortcake in the background

This recipe is the perfect easy sourdough summer dessert. It’s light and fresh. Easy enough for a quick summer cookout dessert, but pretty enough for a garden party. It’s everything a summer dessert recipe should be.

If you like this recipe, you’ll love my sourdough dessert recipes like peaches and cream sourdough focaccia, cinnamon roll sourdough focaccia, and apple fritter sourdough focaccia.

Scroll down for the recipe card, followed by detailed step-by-step instructions (with photos). 

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sourdough Discard Strawberry Shortcake Bars Recipe

Slice of sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bar with layer of shortcake, cream cheese frosting, and topped with sliced strawberries sitting on brown parchment paper with sourdough strawberry shortcake in the background

Sourdough Discard Strawberry Shortcake Bars

Annabelle
Sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bars are an easy twist on classic sourdough strawberry shortcake. They feature a buttery sourdough shortcake base topped with cream cheese frosting and sweet sliced strawberries. Make in minutes to please a crowd!
5 from 15 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 350 kcal

Ingredients
  

Sourdough Discard Shortcake Bars

  • ½ cup butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup sourdough discard
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 pound strawberries hulled and sliced

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces whipped cream see note about my recipe to make homemade whipped cream

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Slice strawberries and set aside.
  • Mix butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, eggs, and sourdough discard and mix.
  • Pour in half of the milk and half of the flour. Mix and then add the remaining milk and flour. Don't pour all the flour and milk in at once or the batter will be lumpy. Mix until smooth.
  • Grease a 9×13 baking dish or line with parchment paper. Pour batter into the dish.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350℉ (180℃) until edges start to get lightly gold brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake will be flat and light; it will not rise like a typical cake.
  • In a large mixing bowl while cake cools, beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed and beat until well combined. Fold in whipped cream with a spatula.
  • Spread cream cheese frosting over the cake once it has completely cooled. Add sliced strawberries on top, slice, and serve! Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

  • Cool completely – Let the cake completely cool before adding the frosting or it will melt!
  • Whipped cream – You can make my easy homemade whipped cream in less than 5 minutes. It’s my go-to and makes for delicious, creamy frosting!
  • Make ahead – This recipe can be made ahead of time by making the cake and frosting and storing in the fridge separately. Just add the frosting to the cake and top with sliced strawberries when ready.
  • Keep cold – This cake needs kept cold so store in the fridge until ready to serve. If serving at an outdoor event where it’s warm, you can nest the cake pan in a tray of ice so the icing doesn’t melt.
Sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bar with layer of shortcake, cream cheese frosting, and topped with sliced strawberries and white daisy flowers sitting on brown parchment paper with square piece taken from bottom right corner with serving utensil

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s BEAUTIFUL. Is that my favorite reason? No, but it’s a good one. This is simply a gorgeous take on sourdough strawberry shortcake. It’s so simple yet impressive!
  • This recipe is easy and quick. It takes a fraction of the time of traditional strawberry shortcake without sacrificing flavor.
  • It’s perfect for a crowd! A 9×13 pan of these sourdough strawberry shortcake bars will stretch so much further than traditional strawberry shortcakes. They are the perfect dessert for all your summer cookouts, 4th of July party food, lake days, and summer birthday desserts!

Important Ingredients

Sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bars ingredients sitting on table in bowls labeled: milk, strawberries, eggs, flour, butter, baking powder, salt, sugar, vanilla extract, sourdough discard, whipped cream, cream cheese
  • Sourdough discard – You can use flat, unfed sourdough discard or recently fallen sourdough starter. Either is fine! It really doesn’t matter since it is being used to enhance the flavor, not what’s being used to make the cake rise.
  • Strawberries – Ripe and sweet strawberries have the best flavor. Learn how to choose ripe strawberries at the store.
  • Vanilla extract – This is a key flavor in both the buttery vanilla cake and frosting of this recipe. Don’t skimp on the vanilla extract with this one! Any kind of vanilla extract will do, but if you want to kick it up a notch, use homemade. I like this recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen.
  • Cream cheese – Softened to room temperature cream cheese will make mixing up the frosting easier.
  • Whipped cream – I only use homemade whipped cream since I think it tastes the best and has the most wholesome ingredients. You can make your own using my recipe or use store-bought whipped cream for convenience. Just be sure to thaw the package before incorporating it into the frosting.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card above.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Strawberry Shortcake Bars (Step by Step)

Sourdough Discard Shortcake Bars

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Slice strawberries and set aside.

Step 2: Mix butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, eggs, and sourdough discard and mix.

Grid of 2 photos of sourdough discard shortcake ingredients being mixed in metal mixing bowl

Step 3: Pour in half of the milk and half of the flour. Mix and then add the remaining milk and flour. Don’t pour all the flour and milk in at once or the batter will be lumpy. Mix until smooth.

Grid of 2 photos of sourdough discard shortcake ingredients being mixed in metal mixing bowl

Step 4: Grease a 9×13 baking dish or line with parchment paper. Pour batter into the dish.

Step 5: Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350℉ (180℃) until edges start to get lightly gold brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake will be flat and light; it will not rise like a typical cake.

Grid of 2 photos of sourdough discard shortcake batter in glass baking pans

Cream Cheese Frosting

Step 6: In a large mixing bowl while cake cools, beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed and beat until well combined. Fold in whipped cream with a spatula.

Make my easy homemade whipped cream recipe for an extra creamy frosting.

Grid of 2 photos of cream cheese frosting being mixed in metal mixing bowl

Step 7: Spread cream cheese frosting over the cake once it has completely cooled. Add sliced strawberries on top, slice, and serve! Store in the refrigerator.

Sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bar with layer of shortcake, cream cheese frosting, and topped with sliced strawberries and white daisy flowers sitting on brown parchment paper

How to Make Ahead

To make sourdough strawberry shortcake bars ahead of time, make the cake, cool completely, and cover the pan with plastic wrap. Make the frosting and store in a bowl with an airtight lid. Keep both the cake and frosting in the refrigerator. Whenever you’re ready to assemble the bars, spread the frosting on the cake and top with sliced strawberries.

How to Serve

This recipe needs to be kept chilled in the fridge or the frosting will melt. It’s perfect for a backyard bbq dessert, summer garden party dessert, summer birthday dessert, or 4th of July dessert. But most of these summer events are outdoors in warm weather and you don’t want the sourdough strawberry shortcake bars to melt!

I recommend keeping the bars in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them. Or you can keep them in a cooler or nest them in a shallow tray with ice if a fridge isn’t available. The frosting will get melty if warmed up and we want to avoid that by keeping it chilled.

Slice of sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bar with layer of shortcake, cream cheese frosting, and topped with sliced strawberries sitting on brown parchment paper with sourdough strawberry shortcake in the background

Ideas to Decorate Sourdough Discard Strawberry Shortcake

To decorate your sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bars for different themed events, you could:

  • Add daisies for a garden party, girls night dessert, or birthday party
  • Add blueberries to make a red, white, and blue 4th of July themed sourdough dessert recipe or check out my Sourdough American Flag Shortcake recipe

How to Store

Store the sourdough strawberry shortcake in the refrigerator before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Close up of sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bar with layer of shortcake, cream cheese frosting, and topped with sliced strawberries and white daisy flowers sitting on brown parchment paper with sliced strawberry left to it on the parchment

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can use active sourdough starter or discard. Discard is simply another name for inactive sourdough starter. Either is perfectly fine since you will be baking right away and won’t be doing a long fermentation.

Ripe strawberries are red all over, slightly soft but not mushy. Using ripe strawberries will create the best sweet results for sourdough strawberry shortcake. Overripe strawberries can be mushy and runny. Underripe strawberries can be too firm and lack flavor.

Strawberries are in season from May to August. Peak seasonal freshness is usually in June in the U.S.

These sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bars are always a hit whenever I take them to an event. They’re light, refreshing, and slice up to serve a crowd. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Leave a rating and comment below letting me know how you enjoyed this recipe!

Looking for more sourdough dessert recipes? Check out my sourdough coffee cake muffins and my sourdough double chocolate chip cookies.

Interested to learn more about Hello Honeycomb? Click here to read more about me!

Similar Posts

42 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I am obsessed with these sourdough discard strawberry shortcake bars for the summer! I’m making them for all our summer cookouts and 4th of July celebrations. They are a HUGE hit every time and I hope you love them as much as we do!

    Leave me a comment with any questions and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

    Reply

    1. 5 stars
      Reviving my sourdough starter for summer so I can give these shortcake bars a try YUM!

      Reply

  3. These look delicious and I bet they would work well with other summer fruits too! Raspberries would be delicious with the creamy topping 🙂

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    Oh my word, this looks absolutely gorgeous. I love the daisies on it, such a nice touch! And looking at this makes me crave it! What a fantastic recipe, thanks so much for sharing this!

    Reply

  8. These look so good! I love finding creative ways to use sourdough discard, and pairing it with strawberries and shortcake is genius.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    These look amazing! I love using my sourdough starter/discard in recipes and can’t wait to try these!! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  16. 5 stars
    Following up to report we did make these tonight and they are delish! Sweet, but not overly. Just right — you nailed it!

    Reply

      1. We made them twice this past week, so if anyone is on the fence about making them, take the leap! So so good. We can’t keep them long, clearly!

        Reply

  21. These will be so fun for Easter or Mother’s Day. I love the simplicity of a bar, and they look so pretty displayed on tiered trays. Thanks for sharing and your photos are stunning!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating