Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
A classic vegan strawberry shortcake, made with fluffy biscuits topped with strawberries and whipped cream.
Ingredients
For the strawberry topping: (you can do this up to a day ahead)
- 2 cups strawberries sliced
- 3 tbsp sugar
For the shortcake:
- 3 cups flour or gluten-free flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp baking powder (yes 2 tablespoons- you need a lot)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 dash nutmeg
- 1/2 cup shortening or vegan butter or softened coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cup soy milk or any other plant-based milk that you want.
For the whipped cream:
- 2 cups vegan whipped cream
Instructions
Prep the strawberries:
-
Wash a pound of strawberries, cut the stems off the top, and slice them into 1/8 inch thick slices.
-
Place them in a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tsp of sugar. Give it a stir and then place in the fridge until you are ready to serve the dessert.
Make the shortcake:
-
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
-
Measure out 3 cups flour, (use a spoon to fill the measuring cups) 2 tbsp of baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, and a dash of nutmeg into a bowl.
-
Add 1/2 cup of shortening and mix with a pastry cutter or large fork. (You can also toss into a food processor and pulse it a few times if you find that easier).
-
Once the dry mixture and fat are mixed well, slowly add the plant-based milk and fold the mixture until a soft dough is formed. (You may need slightly more or less milk depending on how you measured and what type of flour you are using). Mix just until you can no longer see dry flour.
-
Press the dough with your hands on a floured flat surface until it's about 3/4 inch thick, then use a biscuit cutter or and large drinking glass to cut the dough into 3-4 inch circles. (Gently reshape the scraps between the circles until all the dough is formed.)
-
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 minutes.
-
Allow cooling on the tray for about 10 minutes before serving.
Assemble the strawberry shortcake:
-
Place a shortcake biscuit on a plate, then top with a layer of strawberries, a layer of whipped cream, then top with another biscuit, strawberries, and more whipped cream. (You can also cut the shortcake in half to make them thinner. They soak up more strawberry juice this way too!)
Recipe Notes
- Be sure to spoon measure your flour. This means to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and use the back of a knife to gently level the flour. If you scoop the flour out with a measuring cup, you will pack it down and have more flour than you need which will result in dry biscuits.
- Don't over mix the dough. As soon as you can no longer see dry flour stop mixing.
- Let the strawberries sit for at least 1/2 hour after sprinkling with sugar. This allows it to release some juices which will soak into your biscuit and make it more moist and flavorful.
- If you want to save time you can also cook the shortbread-like drop biscuits, dropping a 3/4 cup pile of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake unformed.