Sweet and light, this classic summer dessert with its seasonal colors is the perfect dessert to celebrate Canada’s birthday.
Happy Canada Day! This year the celebrations may be all virtual but we can still cook and enjoy our favorite recipes with our family. Every year my Canada Day recipes feature strawberries and cream in honor of our national flag. I usually just slice some of the strawberries over ice cream or have them with oats in the morning, but this year I wanted to go a little fancier. I decided to make strawberries shortcakes, one of my favorite pre-vegan desserts and I’m glad I did. Creamy, light, and sweetly tart, it is a wonderful addition to any summer celebration menu.
Easy vegan shortcakes
The most important part of a shortcake is the shortcake itself. I found this recipe at the New York Times cooking website and they are perfect- flaky and light and not too sweet. You can easily make it gluten-free. The biscuit won’t be as flaky or rise as much but will still be light and fine.
You start by baking the shortcakes and setting them aside. They are best fresh but cooled so your whipped topping doesn’t melt.
You can use any summer fruit or a combination. I generally stick with the classic strawberries but you can use peaches, add blueberries or what you like. For cream I use coconut cream, half frozen. It works very well and has the creaminess you want in a whipped topping.
You’ll want to make extras because vegan strawberry shortcakes so yummy! This recipe make eight shortcakes which enough for four to eight people. For a larger gathering, just double the recipe.
Summer is the perfect season for strawberries and this celebration is the perfect time to showcase them,and our national colors in this bright and light dessert. Enjoy and have a wonderful Canada day!
Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
- 2 pints ripe strawberries
- 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar or more to taste
Shortcake:
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 plus 1/8 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup plant based milk or cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream:
- 3-14 ounce cans coconut cream chilled
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Wash and remove stems from the strawberries. Cut in quarters. Crush about a quarter of the berries with a fork or pulse process twice in a food processor. Combine with remaining berries and the tablespoons of sugar. Taste test and add more sugar if desired. Cover berries and set aside for at least half an hour to let flavours develop.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- To make the shortcakes: Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add the 1/2 and 1/8 cup of vegan butter. Cut it into the flour until mixture is crumbly. Add milk, and mix to a soft dough.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for one minute. Gently roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out using a 3-inch floured biscuit cutter.
- Place the rounds on a parchment paper or silicone sheet lined cooking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottoms and flaky throughout.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet. Slice each shortcake in half and set aside.
- To make the whip cream: Chill the cans of coconut cream in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
- Open the cans and scoop the hardened cream from the tops of the can. Discard or set aside the remaining coconut water for later use.
- Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the cream until fluffy and light. Add the sweetener and vanilla and mix well.
- Return whipped cream to the fridge or freeze it if short on time. Serve chilled.
- To assemble the shortcakes: Place a bottom half of a shortcake on each plate. Top with a generous amount of whipped cream and then the sliced berries. Top with the top half, and add some more whipped cream and a few more berries.
- Serve immediately.
You must be logged in to post a comment.