I’ve been enjoying the best of what California has to offer for the last week with Sarpreet & the bro.   Of particular interest – more strawberries.  Since my last guest blog post (at the end of my month long vegan experiment) was on strawberries, I thought it appropriate to introduce my monthly guest post by sharing another strawberry experience.  Vegan strawberry shortcake!   I found the recipe in a Vegetarian Times – the cake is vegan made with just flour, oil, almond milk, salt, sugar and baking soda….I left out the whipped cream, but would imagine it would be a delicious addition to this treat.   The strawberries were mixed with a bit of lemon juice and vanilla, which after a few hours really brought out the sweet flavour of these strawberries.    Here’s hoping we can all get in a few more strawberry delights this month!

Recipe from Vegetarian Times – July/August 2011 Issue
Shortcakes
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1.5 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp canola or almond oil
3/4 cup almond milk, plus more for brushing tops of shortcakes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup turbinado sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 425°F, and coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in oil until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. In separate bowl, whisk together almond milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Stir almond milk mixture into flour mixture until soft dough forms.

3. Turn out dough onto floured work surface, and roll to 1-inch thickness. Cut out 8 Shortcakes with 21/2-inch round cutter. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, brush Shortcake tops with almond milk, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if using. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until Shortcakes are golden brown. Cool 10 minutes.

Topping
4 cups fresh raspberries, blueberries, and/or strawberries (1 lb.)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 drops vanilla extract
Pinch salt

1. Combine berries, confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt in bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

2. To serve: Split Shortcakes in half, and place bottoms on serving plate. Top with 1/4 cup berry mixture. Place tops of Shortcakes slightly askew on top, and add remaining 1/4 cup berry mixture.