After a lot of research, I only had to make a few tweaks before the recipe was perfect.
The recipe is easy to follow and uses simple methods as well as basic ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now. They can be made in under 1 hour.
The shortcakes were adapted from my Best Damn Vegan Biscuits, a favorite of readers. I modified the recipe by using coconut milk in place of almond milk to make a vegan “buttermilk.” They are gluten-free utilizing a mixture of my Gluten-free Flour Blend and almond flour.
This results in a fluffy and tender shortcake, perfect with strawberries and coconut whipped cream.
The shortcakes are baked beautifully. They were so well-risen and browned on the outside. The outside crust was lovely (swoon!) They were soft and fluffy inside but formed a nice crust on the outside (swoon!
Let them cool. Next, we’ll get to the most important part: toppings.
Toppings: I chose Coconut Whipped cream and strawberries sprinkled with cane sugar.
They were also delicious with grilled peaches (!!) and dairy-free ice cream. You can’t go far wrong with the toppings.
Ingredients
COCONUT BUTTERMILK
- Then, add 3/4 cup of light or full-fat coconut milk to the mixture. ( stirred / well shaken so that no clumps are left).
- Use one tablespoon of lemon juice or apple vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
SHORTCAKE
- 1 cup gluten-free flour blend*
- One scant teaspoon of almond meal
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- Add more sugar to your taste (or substitute stevia)
- Half a teaspoon of sea salt
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- Coconut oil 3 Tbsp
FOR SERVING
- 1 lb strawberries (hulled, sliced, and organic when possible).
- To sweeten/create a sauce, use one pinch of stevia ( optional or 1 Tbsp (12.25 g) organic cane sugar)
- Coconut Whipped Cream or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (204 C). Grease a baking pan.
- Combine coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice in a small measuring cup. Add vanilla if desired. Stir well and set aside.
- Add the almond flour, organic cane sugar, baking powder, and sea salt to a large bowl and whisk together. Use a pastry knife, whisk, or fork and “cut” in the coconut oil until only small pieces remain.
- Stir with a wooden spoon to combine 3/4 of the buttermilk coconut into the dry mix. You want a semi-sticky mixture, so you don’t have to use the entire coconut milk. I used the whole amount of coconut milk (as written in the original recipe // adjust if you change the default serving number).
- Add more coconut milk if your mixture appears too dry. If the mixture looks too wet, add 1-2 Tbsp of almond flour, gluten-free blend, or flour at a time to compensate. (see photo)
- Dust the dough with gluten-free flour and transfer it to a surface that has been well-floured (gluten-free). Form a disc of 1 inch thickness with your hands, using as little handling as possible. Using a biscuit cutter or narrow drinking glass (or a well-floured cookie cutter), cut out circles. Transfer the shortcakes to an oiled baking sheet, arranging them so that they are touching (see photo). Continue reforming the dough as necessary until you have used all of it – approximately six shortcakes.
- Sprinkle a little more sugar on top of the shortcakes and brush the tops with coconut oil or coconut milk. Coconut milk and oil will make the biscuits moister, while oil will help form a more crusty top. Both work great!
- Bake at 400 F until they begin to brown and crisp up on the outside. Increase heat to 450 F (223 C) for 3-5 more minutes. Be careful not to burn.
- You can slice the strawberries and prepare the Coconut Whipped Cream. Sprinkle sugar or stevia on strawberries to sweeten and create a sauce.
- Let biscuits cool for 5 minutes after removing them from the oven. Separate the shortcakes carefully so that they can cool down completely. It would be best if you allowed these to cool down and release the steam otherwise they may be too moist. It is best to serve at room temperature.
- Serve the shortcakes by dividing them in half and topping them with coconut whipped cream, sliced strawberries, or ice cream.
- Fresh is best. Keep leftover shortcakes in the refrigerator for up to a month.
