Strawberries & Creme Shortcake

When I was growing up on the farm, our family had seven acres of strawberries. My father was the champion strawberry expert in my opinion! This project included the entire family which meant planting, watering, weeding, picking, selling, stemming and eating! During the picking season, we had strawberries for every meal, but our all time favorite strawberry dish was strawberry shortcake topped with lots of cream! After  tweaking  several recipes, I have come up with a clean eating shortcake recipe but even more exciting is the healthy option for whipping cream!

I chose to make the shortcake gluten-free, but you could substitute whole wheat pastry flour if you prefer. I have been experimenting with blanched almond flour with exciting results. Check out this blog post about blanched almond flour.

Gather ingredients of blanched almond flour, light olive oil, vanilla, lemon, honey, cream tartar & baking soda (not pictured) and three eggs. You will used the juice and the zest of the lemon.

Separate the eggs. To the yolks add 1/4 c. honey, 1 T. lemon juice, 1/4 c. oil, 1 t. baking soda,  1 t. vanilla and 1 t. lemon zest. Whisk until well blended.

Beat egg whites until frothy. Add 1/8 t. cream of tartar and beat for 1-2 minutes more.

Fold whipped egg whites into yolk mixture. Gently mix in almond flour. Pour into greased muffin tins.

Bake in 350 oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. They burn quickly, so watch them carefully. Cool for 5 minutes, then gently loose the edges with a knife and remove.

Wash, stem and slice strawberries. Depending on the sweetness of your berries you may want to add a couple squirts of agave or honey. My berries had plenty of natural sweetness, so I didn’t have to add extra sweetener. Cut each shortcake in half and layer with fresh berries and cream. Here is a magical recipe for whipping cream…

One cup of cottage cheese (I used 2%), one cup of non-fat Greek yogurt, 2 T. agave and 1 t. vanilla. (not shown) Place all in blender or food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides several times.

This is absolutely delicious! I could have eaten just a bowlful of this for a fantastic dessert! I spooned this cream between the shortcake layers and fresh berries. This cream stores well in the fridge.

The shortcakes have the texture of a light sponge cake. The hint of lemon marries well with the fresh berries.

Strawberries & Creme Shortcake

3 eggs, separated
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. light olive oil
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. cream of tartar
1 c. almond flour

Separate the eggs. To the yolks add 1/4 c. honey, 1 T. lemon juice, 1/4 c. oil, 1 t. baking soda,  1 t. vanilla and 1 t. lemon zest. Whisk until well blended. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add 1/8 t. cream of tartar and beat for 1-2 minutes more. Fold whipped egg whites into yolk mixture. Gently mix in almond flour. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake in 350 oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. They burn quickly, so watch them carefully. Cool for 5 minutes, then gently loose the edges with a knife and remove.