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This strawberry sauce or strawberry glaze is made with puréed strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Fresh strawberry pieces are mixed in for extra flavor and texture. It’s a fantastic glaze or topping for cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, pancakes, angel food cake, waffles, ice cream, and more!
This strawberry sauce or glaze is hands down the best topping for cheesecakes, cakes, and ice cream! It’s a versatile dessert sauce that’s delightfully sweet from ripe strawberries and brightened with just the right amount of lemon juice. Best of all, it’s incredibly simple and easy to make and requires just 4 ingredients!
Why use cornstarch in strawberry sauce?
Cornstarch gives the strawberry sauce a perfect consistency – not too thick and not too thin. Using cornstarch slightly thickens the sauce to create a smooth glaze that slowly oozes down your dessert to create a beautiful drip effect.
If the sauce is too thin, it creates a watery mess and doesn’t stay on top of your dessert. Too thick and it doesn’t flow easily enough to pour or glaze desserts. Adding a bit of cornstarch gives it the perfect viscosity to make this the best strawberry topping for any dessert or breakfast.
Ingredients for Strawberry Sauce & Glaze
- Strawberries – Use fresh, ripe strawberries. Half of the strawberries are puréed to create a smooth, viscous sauce. The other half is halved or cut into big pieces to add texture.
- Sugar – Use fine granulated sugar. Start with less and adjust with more if needed.
- Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice is preferred. It adds the perfect amount of brightness to the sauce.
- Cornstarch – A bit of cornstarch slightly thickens the strawberry sauce to give it the perfect pouring consistency to glaze any dessert.
Steps by Step Photos
- Start with fresh, ripe strawberries. Wash and hull them to remove the stem. Then chop half the strawberries into small pieces and halve the remaining half.
- Purée the chopped strawberry pieces using an immersion blender or food processor.
- Add the strawberry purée, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to a pot and stir together to combine. Heat over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil to thicken.
- Once it boils, turn off the heat and add the halved strawberries.
- Stir gently to combine to avoid smashing the fresh strawberry halves. It will soften in the sauce and add a wonderful texture and visual appeal to the sauce.
- Taste the sauce and adjust with more lemon juice and sugar, depending on the sweetness of the strawberries. For a thinner sauce, add one teaspoon of water at a time. Note: the glaze will thicken as it cools.
Allow the strawberry sauce to completely cool before using it as a glaze for cakes or topping for cheesecake. But for pancakes, waffles, and French toast, I prefer serving it warm.
Ways to serve strawberry sauce or glaze
- Cheesecakes – New York cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake
- Strawberry shortcake
- Breakfast items – pancakes, waffles, French toast, crepes
- Cakes – chiffon cake, sponge cake, matcha cake, angel food cake, pound cake
- Ice cream
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Strawberry Sauce (Strawberry Glaze)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb strawberries, washed and hulled
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, adjust as needed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Prep strawberries: Cut ½ the strawberries into halves and set them aside. For the other half, purée using a blender or food processor until smooth.1 lb strawberries
- Cook: In a medium pot, add the strawberry purée, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir to combine the cornstarch and sugar, then heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil to thicken. Turn off the heat.1 teaspoon cornstarch, 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Add fresh strawberries: Stir in the halved strawberry pieces then taste and adjust with more sugar or lemon juice. For a thinner sauce, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time. Note: Sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Cool: Allow the sauce to completely cool. The halved strawberries will soften in the sauce but still keep their shape for presentation. Serve as a topping for cheesecakes, ice cream, and more. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Strawberry sauce and glaze should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for 3 days.
Reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time or heat on the stovetop over low heat.
Such a great, classic recipe! Strawberries are in full season here and this was perfect atop waffles!
Delicious! It went nicely with my Pink Lemonade Pie. Thank you for the recipe. Making more for my Angelfood Cake.