Strawberry Shortcake Vegan Style

I am a child of the 1980s, so, unfortunately, when I hear the words “Strawberry Shortcake,” my mind jumps to a little plastic doll with bright red hair and a bonnet. Now that my interests have shifted, I’d take this dessert over the toy any day.

 

This is a beautiful vegan alternative.

Note: Assemble the Creem Biscuits, Sweet Cashew Creem, and Berry Goodness just before serving.

 

Creem Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole grain flour (I use 1 cup each oat and spelt flours, if you’re comfortable with gluten-free flour baking, give it a shot)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil (or non-dairy, non-GM margarine), chilled
• 1 cup coconut milk (or another rich non-dairy milk), plus 2 tbsp more for the biscuit tops
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Cooking Instruction

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Adjust the rack to the middle of the oven. Prepare a baking tray with a piece of unbleached parchment paper or a light coating of oil.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Cut in the oil or marg until it is in pieces smaller than peas.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and stir with a fork just until combined.
5. Drizzle in the cider vinegar and knead just 2–3 times to distribute it.
6. Thwack 1/4 cupfuls of the dough onto the baking sheet (8 in all) and quickly paint the tops with a touch of coconut milk.
7. Slide baking sheet into the oven immediately and bake for about 14 minutes, until the bottoms are golden.

Allow to cool on a rack for 30 minutes.

 

Sweet Cashew Creem

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water to cover for at least 4 hours or overnight
• 3/4–1 cup filtered water
• 2 tbsp liquid sweetener (local raw honey, maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cooking Instruction

1. Drain soaking water off the cashews, discard, and rinse the nuts.
2. Whirl up all ingredients (starting with the smaller amount of fresh filtered water) in a blender or food processor until smooth—about 2 minutes. Add extra water if necessary.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.

Makes 1 ½ cups.

 

About the Author

jae steele is a registered holistic nutritionist and the author of two vegan cookbooks, Get It Ripe and Ripe from around Here. She is just completing her second karma yoga stay in the past nine months at Yasodhara Ashram.

Learn more about jae.

 

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