Mason Jar Strawberry Shortcake with Lemon Curd

These individual strawberry shortcake parfaits are topped with lemon curd and vanilla mascarpone, and packed into mini mason jars, making them the perfect dessert for a summer picnic or backyard BBQ!

If you love strawberries, check out these No-bake Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries or this Strawberry Basil Crostini.

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So, who else loves dessert??! Lemon is one of my favorite flavors for dessert, right behind chocolate!  And individual desserts are always high on my list of great ideas for parties and picnics so I decided to add a bit of a twist to a traditional strawberry shortcake by adding lemon curd and some vanilla mascarpone and then packing it into little mason jars. FUN!!  

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The Perfect Single-Serving Dessert

These make-ahead mini mason jar desserts are perfect for summer picnics or any time when a packable transportable dessert is needed – think summer picnics and backyard parties. Not to mention they look really cute when packed in these lovely little mason jars!!

I also love these because you can make them ahead of time and stash them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. They are also a great idea if you want to have something unique on hand for dessert during the week.

The combination of strawberries and lemon in this dessert just screams summer!

Recipe Ingredients + Substitutions

This recipe includes a few less common ingredients but the end result is definitely worth an extra trip to the store! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Flour: You need both cake flour and all-purpose flour. The cake flour helps to give the biscuits a softer, fluffier texture.
• Raw sugar: You can substitute demerara sugar if you happen to have it in your pantry.
• Half and half: I don’t recommend substituting milk here but if you had to, whole milk would be the best option.
• Butter: Whenever possible, I use unsalted European-style butter for baking.
• Lemon zest + juice: You’ll need 1 to 2 lemons depending on the size.
• Eggs: This recipe assumes large eggs.
• Mascarpone: You can find this in most major grocery stores, usually in either the cheese or deli section.
• Strawberries: A few large strawberries are enough for this recipe.
• Pantry staples: salt, baking powder, sugar, honey, vanilla extract

How to make strawberry shortcake in a jar

The full printable recipe card can be found below, but let’s walk through some of the details before you get started.

This recipe has three distinct parts: the shortcakes, the lemon curd and the vanilla mascarpone.

The Lemon Curd

Since the lemon curd needs to cool to set fully, you want to start with this step.

• Start by zesting and then juicing the lemons ahead of time, it’s very difficult to zest lemons after you’ve juiced them! 🙂
• Then you make the lemon sugar.
• That gets whisked together with the lemon juice, egg and salt, and cooked over low heat. After the butter is added, everything is strained through a fine-mesh strainer. Then it goes into the refrigerator to set.

The Shortcakes

• These are pretty traditional, unstructured shortcakes. The ingredients go into a food processor for easy mixing.
• You want them to be a very light, golden brown so keep an eye on them due to oven temperature variations.

The Vanilla Mascarpone

• The honey and vanilla extract give the mascarpone a little extra flavor boost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

Since they are served in a mason jar, these parfaits are ideal for a summer picnic or backyard party. For a complete menu, I’d add this Tortellini Pesto Pasta Salad or this Grilled Chicken Quinoa Salad, along with some Healthy Cowboy Caviar and some Melon, Proscuitto and Mozzarella Skewers.

More summer dessert recipes

If love light summer desserts, check out the recipes for Grilled Peaches (which will also use up some of the leftover mascarpone), No-Churn Salted Caramel Ice Cream or Lemon Lavender Cake.

Print

Mason Jar Strawberry Shortcake with Lemon Curd

These individual strawberry shortcakes are topped with lemon curd and vanilla mascarpone, making them the perfect dessert for a summer picnic!

Course Desserts & Sweets

Cuisine American

Keyword individual strawberry shortcake, mason jar dessert, summer dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 jars

Author Kathryn | Urban Foodie Kitchen

Ingredients

For the lemon curd: 

• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons butter

For the shortcake: 

• ¼ cup cake flour
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon demerara or raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup half and half

For the vanilla mascarpone:

• ½ cup mascarpone
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon honey

For assembly: 

• 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries
• ½ tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon Demerara or raw sugar

Instructions

For the lemon curd: 

• Combine the lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl. Use a fork to mix together until fully incorporated.
• Add the sugar mixture, lemon juice, eggs and salt to a small saucepan and whisk together. Place saucepan over medium-low heat and cook for 5-6 minutes, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken.  
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. Continue whisking until the butter is melted.
• Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Strain the lemon curd using the back of a large spoon to push the lemon curd through the strainer. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the lemon curd and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to cool and set.

For the shortcake: 

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place flours, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 2-3 times until combined.
• Add butter and pulse until fully incorporated. A coarse mixture will form. With the motor running add the half and half and continue blending until a soft ball forms.
• Drop the dough in two equal parts on the baking sheet; flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake for 30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool.

For the mascarpone: 

• Mix the mascarpone, vanilla and honey in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble:

• Mix the lemon zest and raw sugar together. Set aside.
• Break the shortcakes into pieces and divide evenly between four small mason jars.
• Add a layer of sliced strawberries. Add approximately 2 tablespoon of lemon curd to each jar, followed by approximately 2 tablespoon of the mascarpone mixture.
• Sprinkle with a bit of the lemon sugar mixture and top with additional strawberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

If you refrigerate the jars before serving the shortcakes may get a bit soggy however they will taste just fine!

This post was originally published in August 2015. It was updated in May 2024 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.