This strawberry topping is perfect for cheesecakes, angel food cake, strawberry cookie bars, strawberry shortcake, or just going on top of some vanilla ice cream. It takes 10 minutes to make, can be frozen, and used later, and is my favorite way to use those fresh seasonal strawberries!
What's In This Blog Post
Strawberry Topping Ingredients
I am such a huge berry fan. Growing up in Oregon, there isn't a time of the year more magical than berry season! From blueberry filling, blackberry filling, and raspberry filling, I take advantage of all the fresh berries and make lots of toppings to last me the whole year.
I have talked about a lot about how good Hood Berries are when I was researching my fresh strawberry cake, and they are really only available for about two weeks in June. So as soon as they were ready this year, I went out and picked as many as I could to turn into strawberry topping and also freeze for later.
Aside from strawberries, the only other ingredients you will need is a lemon for a bit of acidity, some sugar, a dash of salt, and some clear gel (or cornstarch) to thicken the strawberry filling.
I prefer clear gel over cornstarch because it stays super clear and glossy. Sometimes cornstarch can look a little cloudy.
Why This Topping Is The Best
I have tried many ways of making strawberry topping, and I always hate how the strawberries don't keep their shape after cooking. This topping is thick and glossy and looks absolutely gorgeous on top of desserts, has big beautiful chunks of strawberries visible and is also thick enough to use as a cake filling.
The combination of cooking half the strawberries down and then adding in more berries at the end gives this strawberry topping the perfect combination of thick strawberry puree with big chunks of strawberries that still look beautiful.
You can freeze this topping for later and have fresh, delicious strawberry topping at any time. I especially love putting my strawberry topping on vanilla ice cream to make a strawberry sundae just like they do at Dairy Queen! One of my guilty pleasures.
How To Make Strawberry Topping
- Prepare your fresh strawberries by washing them in cold water, then removing the green stem and cutting them into quarters.
- Add half the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
- Stir together your clear gel and your water, and add it to the simmering mixture.
- Cook the mixture for one minute or until it thickens.
- Stir in the remaining strawberries and allow the filling to cool before you use it.
FAQ
Nope! Strawberry jam is made with sugar and pectin and is used as a spread. Strawberry topping is thickened with cornstarch or clear gel and is more visually appealing because of it's glossy nature.
You can store leftover strawberry topping for up to a week or freeze it for up to six months.
Recipe
Ingredients
For Strawberry Topping
- 32 ounces strawberries fresh or frozen
- 6 ounces sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces water
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons ClearJel or 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 ounce cool water for the ClearJel or Cornstarch
Instructions
Making the Strawberry Topping
- Combine together half of the strawberries, water, salt, and sugar, lemon juice and zest in a large saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
- Simmer th mixture for 5-10 minutes until the mixture has thickened and reduced by ⅓.
- Use a whisk to crush the strawberries and make the mixture into more of a sauce.
- Combine together the ClearJel (or cornstarch) in a separate cup to make a slurry.
- Add the ClearJel mixture to the simmering strawberries and cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly until thickened.
- Stir the remaining strawberries into the mixture.
- Let the topping cool before spooning over cheesecake or other desserts.
Video
Notes
- Chunkier: use larger pieces, stir gently
- Smoother: blend with an immersion blender before adding slurry
- Thicker: increase ClearJel to 3 tablespoons or cornstarch to 1.5 tablespoons
- Thinner: reduce or omit the thickener
Gina says
How much sugar? Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
so easy to make! I hope you love it too